Research Access to and Uses of Administrative Data Byron G Spencer McMaster University Prepared for the CRDCN Conference 2012 Evidence-Based Policy Formation and Evaluation University of New Brunswick, Fredericton October 22-24, 2012

Research context Individual-level records has become the gold standard for empirical research – Whether from survey data (e.g., StatCan) – Or administrative data (e.g., health, tax, education) Especially longitudinal records But, roadblocks to access

Advantages / Disadvantages Admin records can provide – Long time series – Reliable information But – Limited! – Education, marital status, occupation, income?

Combine! Can link individual income tax returns over time to survey (or census) information at a point in time Or link health records to CCHS Or link admin records with neighbourhood characteristics (e.g., average income, distance to nearest hospital)

Two examples No linkage with survey data in these examples Use of income tax records – To measure retirement and assess income replacement in retirement Use of health records – To assess the age pattern of treatment for hip replacement

Income in retirement Access to LAD (Longitudinal Administrative Databank)

Figure 2: Income-Age Profiles, by Age of Retirement, 1982 Male Cohort Income and income replacement

Hip Replacement Access to Ontario administrative health data – specifically, hospital inpatient records Treatment options for hip replacement– – Therapeutic (no replacement) – Cemented – Uncemented – Autograft – Combined

Treatment choices

Accounting for state of health makes little difference

But hospital matters … HOSP. D HOSP. C HOSP. EHOSP. A HOSP. B

Facilitating Access to Data Depends on security requirements – High security – e.g., StatCan RDCs, ICES hubs – Medium security – e.g., PEDAL – Low security – StatCan public use files Cooperation needed to make access routine – Gov’t departments, including data custodians, service providers, and researchers – Need to address privacy concerns – Documentation /understanding of files

Benefits of providing research access to admin data Access to highly qualified and strongly motivated researchers Can facilitate both researcher-driven investigations and commissioned studies Routine access to such data makes it possible to address matters of policy relevance at very low cost – Faculty, graduate students, PDFs

Benefits … (cont’d) Formal evaluation of the various projects undertaken as part of the McMaster Pilot observed that – “extended analysis relevant to billions of dollars of spending” – “alerts practitioners and policy makers to potential adverse effects”

How to get there Keep talking! Must have buy-in at the top – i.e., DMs, ADMs must be persuaded – Keep focus on the social benefits – Respect privacy concerns – BUT, find ways to respect privacy concerns without foregoing the benefits that can be derived from evidence