scholarly journals Providing A Person-Centred View: Applying Linked Data to Government Policy Reform and Service Design

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Williams ◽  
Kenneth Cheng ◽  
Mark Sipthorp
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Linked Data ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Data Linkage ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Service Design ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Demand Model ◽  
Health And Human Services

The application of linked data by government has limited visibility due to complexities in publishing details of the analysis and interventions. The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) acknowledges the value of linked data in the department’s strategic plan, and linked data has been used in many policy reform and service design activities over the past three years. IntroductionIn 2016 the Centre for Victorian Data Linkage (CVDL), located in DHHS, developed the Victorian Linkage Map (VLM) of 20 plus health and human services datasets linked with births and deaths data. The VLM has since been expanded to include education, justice and police data. DHHS has been an “early adopter” in applying linked data to policy development, service reforms and departmental operations to improve the health and wellbeing of the Victorian population. Objectives and ApproachThe presentation will provide an overview of multi-sector data linkage in Victoria, and the value of frequent collaborations between CVDL and DHHS staff in applying linked data to priority projects and reforms. It will consider the challenges of cross-jurisdictional linkage in Australia, highlighting initiatives which are expanding linked datasets available to DHHS. ResultsDHHS has undertaken a broad range of linked data projects which have provided an evidence base for departmental activities, including provision of hospital, housing, health surveillance and child protection services. Linked data has also been used to develop an integrated demand model, which forecasts impact of investment in one program area on other parts of the service system. Conclusion / ImplicationsThe active use of linked data by DHHS provides a model for other government departments to improve service design and delivery to vulnerable populations. DHSS is expanding linked-data use to additional areas, and further imbedding in departmental operations.

scholarly journals Recent trends in the use of linked data in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Young ◽  
Felicity Flack
Keyword(s):  
Linked Data ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Data Linkage ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Health And Human Services ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Number Of Publications

Objective The aim of this study was to quantify the use of linked data for health and human services research in Australia since the establishment of the Population Health Research Network (PHRN) in 2009. Methods A systematic literature search was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2009 checklist to search for all publications involving the use of Australian linked data between 2009–10 and 2016–17. Publications were categorised by subject, data linked and data linkage unit involved. Results In all, 7153 articles were identified from the initial search, and 1208 were included in the final analysis. An increase in the number of publications involving linked data was observed from 2009–10 through to 2015–16. Most articles (82%) featured data linked by at least one PHRN-funded data linkage unit. The research areas of 86% of publications were able to be classified according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM). The number of publications involving cross-sectoral linked data also increased. Conclusions Investment in Australian data linkage infrastructure has seen an increase in the number of research publications involving the use of linked health and human services data. This study identified areas where linked data is commonly used and those where use could be improved. What is known about the topic? Data linkage is a method of bringing together information about individual people, places and events from different sources in a way that protects individual privacy. Individual jurisdictions have reported benefits from research conducted using linked data, including the generation of new knowledge and supporting improvements in the delivery of a wide range of health and human services. There has been significant investment in national data linkage infrastructure in Australia over the past 8 years. To date, there has been no systematic investigation of the effect of this investment on the use of linked population data by the research community. What does this paper add? This paper provides evidence of the increased use of high-quality population-based linked data in research over the 8-year period studied. It demonstrates the application of data linkage across a wide range of health areas and highlights the small but growing number of studies using cross-sectoral data to investigate complex conditions. What are the implications for practitioners? It is important to demonstrate to funders, policy makers, data custodians and researchers the value of robust data linkage capacity as an important national resource. Its use by researchers can bring enormous social and economic benefits by providing a more complete picture of the health and well-being of the community. The range of data collections routinely linked is increasing, as is the pool of researchers experienced in handling and analysing the data. Continued investment in Australia’s data linkage infrastructure and the inclusion of other collections including general practice data will augment the use of this infrastructure in expanding the evidence base for policy makers and practitioners.

scholarly journals Progress with Access to Cross-jurisdictional Linked Data in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Wray ◽  
Felicity Flack ◽  
Merran Smith
Keyword(s):  
Linked Data ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Data Linkage ◽  
National Data ◽  
Central System ◽  
Application System ◽  
Online Application ◽  
Specific Project ◽  
State Territory ◽  
Multiple Jurisdictions

IntroductionAustralia is a federal, parliamentary, constitutional monarchy which consists of six states and two territories. As a result there is no single national data collection that follows individuals’ interactions with health and human services from birth to death. Therefore researchers need access to linked data from multiple jurisdictions. Objectives and ApproachThe objective of this project was to evaluate the progress of the PHRN in providing researchers access to linkage infrastructure for cross-jurisdictional and multi-jurisdictional projects. Data from the PHRN Online Application System (OAS) was analysed to determine: The number of applications for linked data received The number of jurisdictions involved in each application The number of applications involving researchers from multiple jurisdictions The number of applications involving linkage of state and Commonwealth data An analysis of peer reviewed publications resulting from the use of the infrastructure was also conducted. ResultsAustralia has a unique distributed national data linkage system which enables linkage of data both within and between jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction (state/territory and Commonwealth) has a linkage unit which provides linkage services within that jurisdiction. For cross-jurisdictional linkage, depending on the design of the specific project, the linkage is conducted either by the national data linkage unit or a combination of the national linkage unit and the state/territory data linkage units. Analysis of the data from the OAS shows an increase in the applications for cross-jurisdictional and multi-jurisdictional linked data. There is a mix of requests for only state/territory data and for state/territory/Commonwealth data. The number of national collaborations and publications has also increased. Conclusion/ImplicationsCross-jurisdictional linkage is challenging in a federated country. There are many legislative, regulatory and policy barriers. Despite these challenges, Australia has developed a national system enabling researchers to apply through a central system and for jurisdictions to work together to link and provide access to cross-jurisdictional and multi-jurisdictional data.

scholarly journals Cooperation and Innovation in Data Linkage Creates A Linked, Multi-Sectoral Data Repository for Western Australia – The SIDR Project

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Ferrante ◽  
Tom Eitelhuber ◽  
Max Maller ◽  
Sean Randall ◽  
Adrian Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Data Linkage ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Data Resource ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Linkage Model

IntroductionDuring 2019, the Western Australian (WA) government and Curtin University’s Centre for Data Linkage (CDL) created a large, de-identified researchable database – the Social Investment Data Resource (SIDR) – to support government in delivering targeted early interventions to young offenders and their families to reduce the likelihood of re-offending (the Target 120 program). Objectives and ApproachSIDR brings together administrative data from health, education, justice, child protection, disability and housing sectors. The linked, de-identified data provides an invaluable resource for actuarial assessment and social investment analytics to assess long-term costs and benefits of the Target 120 program. SIDR also provides an invaluable tool for academic research. SIDR adopted a distributed linkage model where linkage workload was shared between the Department of Health Data Linkage Branch who create and maintain the WA Data Linkage System (WADLS) and the CDL. Design elements of the model included a common spine (embedded into the infrastructure of both groups), methods for leveraging quality from WADLS, and inclusion of family relationships data from the WA Family Connections database. The linkage model within SIDR uses a combination of traditional and privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) methods. PPRL does not require release of personal identifiers; instead, data is irreversibly hashed prior to release for probabilistic linkage. ResultsThrough cooperation (distributed linkage) and innovation (a mix of traditional and PPRL linkage), the project has delivered a large, linked, cross-sectoral data resource for policymakers and researchers. Sharing of the linkage workload maximised the capacity and unique capabilities of each linkage unit. PPRL enabled ‘hard to get’ datasets from justice to be included. SIDR is being updated in 2020. Conclusion / ImplicationsSIDR provides a resource for whole-of-government policy development, service evaluation, academic research and social investment analytics for T120 and beyond. The SIDR linkage model has potential for adaptation and use elsewhere.

CHILD WELFARE POLICY REFORM IN CHINA: HISTORICAL MILESTONES AND CURRENT EVALUATIONS

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 27-45
Author(s):  
WENJUN JUNE ZHU ◽  
MONIT CHEUNG ◽  
PATRICK LEUNG
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Welfare Policy ◽  
Family Welfare ◽  
Policy Enforcement ◽  
The Public ◽  
Child Welfare Policy

Policy milestones from 1962 to 2015 highlight China's child welfare policy development in terms of its major implementation eras, characteristics, strengths, and limitations in policy enforcement. This review captures information from government and NGO reports published in the past four decades since the formalization of the one-child policy in China. In the 1960s, as population control was determined an urgent national priority, China's central government started to examine child developmental needs as a way to alert the public about future family issues. Since then, China's child welfare policy development has been characterized by an economy-driven, government-operated, localized, and healthy-child-focused system. The applicability of the public welfare laws in China has been in line with its policy focus on child protection and ending poverty. Policy reform guidelines are proposed to focus on promoting child and family welfare. 中國兒童福利政策於1962年至2015年期間的發展里程碑，是一份分析兒童福利政策的最佳資料，解釋了兒童福利政策在中國的階段性實施，以及每個階段制定的兒童福利政策的特點和利弊。這篇論文收集并分析了從一孩政策頒布伊始至今四十餘載的政府公報和非政府組織的報告。在20世紀60年代，中國中央政府將控制人口的急劇增長定位為社會發展的當務之急，並開始研究兒童發展的需求，以提升對未來家庭問題的警覺性。從此，中國的兒童福利政策的發展凸顯出經濟驅動的、政府運作的、地區差異化的、強調兒童健康成長環境重要性的特點。中國社會公共福利政策的立法呼應了中國兒童福利政策中保護兒童和消除貧困這一中心思想。政府部門在日後編寫政策改革的導論時，必須提出如何推進兒童和家庭福利政策的完善

scholarly journals Using data linkage innovation and collaboration to create a cross-sectoral data repository for Western Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Ferrante ◽  
James Boyd ◽  
Tom Eitelhuber ◽  
Sean Randall ◽  
Adrian Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Data Linkage ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Linkage Model

Background/rationaleThe Western Australian (WA) government and the Centre for Data Linkage (CDL) at Curtin University are creating a large, de-identified researchable database – the Social Investment Data Resource (SIDR) – to support a key government initiative called Target 120 (T120). T120 delivers targeted early interventions to young offenders and their families to reduce the likelihood of re-offending. Main AimThe SIDR brings together de-identified data from across government to be used for actuarial assessment and social investment analytics to assess long-term costs and benefits of T120 interventions. MethodsSIDR adopts a distributed linkage model where linkage workload is shared between the Department of Health Data Linkage Branch who curate WA Data Linkage System (WADLS) and the CDL. Design elements of the model included a common spine (embedded into the infrastructure of both groups), methods for leveraging quality from WADLS, and inclusion of family relationships data from the WA Family Connections database. The linkage model uses a combination of traditional and privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) methods. PPRL does not require release of personal identifiers; instead, data is irreversibly hashed prior to release for probabilistic linkage. The resultant SIDR repository has been designed to be securely and strictly managed. Access is by authorised, approved users only. ResultsUse of a distributed linkage model, coupled with traditional and PPRL methods, is an innovative yet pragmatic way of delivering data linkage services to a large, cross-sectoral research project. PPRL methods enable inclusion of otherwise excluded datasets in the project. Sharing of workload harnesses linkage capacity and capabilities across the state. The SIDR includes health data, education records, justice, child protection, disability and housing data. ConclusionSIDR provides a resource for whole-of-government policy development, service evaluation, academic research and social investment analytics for T120 and beyond. The SIDR distributed linkage model has potential for adaptation and use elsewhere.

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