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To share or not to share? How local health systems in England can accelerate cross-sectoral data linkage to improve planning and decision-making. A collaboration between researchers from Imperial College London and Kent County Council reveals challenges and barriers in sharing data for cross-sectoral linkage related to data infrastructure, data protection rules and lack of regular patient and public engagement. A new article, ‘Advancing the UK health inequalities agenda: Importance of legislation and organisational data sharing’ published in the International Journal of Population Data Science (IJPDS), describes how Integrated Care Systems (ICS) would benefit from cross-sectoral data linkage research and advanced analytics to help improve population health management. The study outlines some of the health-related, person-level administrative datasets, such as the frontline ‘health determinant’ services, and information on protected characteristics, like ethnicity and inclusive health groups. The authors go on to propose potential solutions, such as promoting the use of common person identifiers in non-NHS organisations for data linkage, suggest changes to national legislation, and emphasise the importance of educating and promoting patients and the public. Lead author Dr Abraham George explains: “Population health is not just determined by access to health care. National and international research on the relevance of ‘wider health determinants’ on population health has increased over the years. These may include individual information on educational attainment, quality of housing, type of employment, vulnerable groups and so on. This has implications for governments in different countries in facilitating cross-sectoral data linkage.” You can read the rest of news release here: https://lnkd.in/evG_7QSC   Or go straight to the full open access article: https://lnkd.in/eiEF2ckC Dr. Abraham P. George, Consultant Public Health, Educational Supervisor & Lead for Research, Kent County Council, England, UK George, A., Powell, R. and Rao, M. (2023) “Implementing the English health inequalities agenda: addressing challenges to person-level, cross-sectoral data linkage, access and routine use for local authority public health”, International Journal of Population Data Science, 8(4). Available at: https://lnkd.in/eiEF2ckC (Accessed: 7 February 2024).

Structural and systemic biases in health data systems render certain communities “invisible” and excluded from policy decisions, contributing to health inequities. In a new Q&A, Ninez Ponce of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Health Policy Research and Paris “AJ” Adkins-Jackson of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health discuss their article, which was coauthored with UCLA’s Riti Shimkhada, in The Milbank Quarterly special centennial anniversary issue. In the Milbank interview, the authors discuss policy recommendations from the Biden administration’s Equitable Data Working Group Report and highlight the need for community-centered data. This piece is the third in a series of Q&As with authors from The Milbank Quarterly’s special issue, The Future of Population Health: Challenges and Opportunities.  

Hertfordshire SEND Improvement Plan highlights developments in data and dashboards to prioritise services Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) Improvement Plan developed with NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, has outlined plans to develop a data dashboard to promote shared understanding of SEND provision and quality in the Hertfordshire region. The plan builds upon a strategy running until 2025 that outlines the need to tailor, plan and deliver services to meet individual needs. To achieve this, the Improvement Plan notes the need to act “with urgency” on the development of a data dashboard to provide insights on current provision for SEND in Hertfordshire and its quality, so that activity can be targeted to where it is needed most. Key milestones include the co-production of a prototype dashboard to be presented to the partnership and assurance board; using the journey of children and young people to map the data needed for the dashboard to identify any gaps; and putting in place a “robust data insight development plan” to review progress. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eFRiqgRr Wider trend 🌐 Elsewhere on digital and data, the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has launched a new digital strategy, emphasising digital foundations, patient and staff empowerment, and better use of data: https://lnkd.in/eB2dDH8A #nhs #healthtech #healthcaresystem Stay up to date with the latest health tech #news at https://htn.co.uk Subscribe to our newsletter here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBbNiEZD

Health disparities are a function of access to and control over the multiple determinants of health, including the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, and age. This webinar will provide an overview of the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA) and discuss how neighborhoods operate as a social determinant of health. Using data from NaNDA, presenters will demonstrate some of the diverse pathways by which local neighborhood characteristics can shape health disparities. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gSPBAqnp

⭐ APPLICATION OPEN!⭐The 2024 AAMC Center for Health Justice "Call for Research" is live! We have nationally representative polling data we want to share - for free! - with health equity champions who want to ask & answer questions about: ➡ Health care #access ➡ #childhealth ➡ #disability justice ➡ Financial equity ➡ #healthequity terms & concepts The proposed studies should produce innovative, actionable, relevant research that uses the available data to answer important health equity-focused questions & inform health policy. Up to five selected research teams will be given access to the data at no cost for 2 years. Proposals must be received by March 4, 2024. The center will also host an informational webinar on 2/15 at 2PM EST. To learn more about the data & the opportunity, visit: https://lnkd.in/g6tWscwK To register for the informational webinar, go to: https://lnkd.in/gRRnufP8 #research #healthjustice #collaboration #opportunity #data #economicjustice

Wondering how to use data to make a change? Read how below.

How can we enhance collaboration and #datasharing in local projects to address health inequalities more effectively? This piece by Ellen Coughlan from The Health Foundation focuses on how local authorities can use data on education, housing, employment and more to address disparities in health outcomes, with the help of networks like the Advanced and Predictive Analytics Network, Data Science for Health Equity and the Association of Professional HealthCare Analysts - AphA Analysts - who advocate for better analytical capability. At Sustainable Analytics®, we're all about the challenges analysts face and the need for long-term investment in health data analysis. Bring it on. Read the full article here https://lnkd.in/esWkcyRh #HealthcareAnalytics #HealthInequalities #DataDrivenHealthcare #PublicHealth #DataAnalytics NewCourse Healthcare

In a special supplemental issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Brittany Morey, assistant professor of health, society and behavior, was the first author of an essay that highlights the importance of making data about #NativeHawaiians and #PacificIslanders accessible and transparent. Morey and other #publichealth experts from #SouthernCalifornia analyzed the process by which the public could access federal data and found that there were gaps and security concerns by those who control and manage that data. Full commentary ➡ https://lnkd.in/g9rCWsBb In her work, Dr. Morey focuses on how structural barriers shape racial/ethnic health inequities in the NHPI communities, and is driven by the need to inform equitable public policy and programming to reduce the burden of disease and disparities. The supplemental issue, titled: "Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL): Leveraging the Power of Communities During Public Health Emergencies", can be accessed here: https://lnkd.in/dvN4AdP8 American Public Health Association UCLA Center for Health Policy Research