Data Linkage In Nursing Research

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Data linkage is the transitory electronic process by which two or more sources of data (e.g. hospital admission, perioperative deaths, hospital bed occupancy rates, cervical screening, vaccination rates, and administrative data) are combined to produce a large amount of information (Powell, Davies & Thomson, 2002). Arguably, the linking of databases can significantly contribute to current health research by facilitating the assessment of service delivery, clinical performance, health policies, and ensuring that support is directed towards those who need it the most (Kelman, Bass, & Holman, 2002). In order to link two or more sets of data, it is necessary to use identifiers which are prevalent to all health records. Identifiers tend to contain …show more content…

For example, in a study that examined adhesions (i.e. bands of fibrous tissue that form between abdominal tissue and other organs causing them to stick together) following open abdominal and pelvic surgery (Ellis et al., 1999)’, researchers identified 29 790 patients who experienced this type of surgery in 1986 (none underwent any surgical procedures in the following 5 years). The findings indicated that after 10 years, 34.6% of the patients had been readmitted to hospital, as a result of complications resulting from adhesions. While randomised control trials (RCT) could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of medical treatments, tracking patients through time in this manner would be very difficult and expensive. Therefore, it could be argued that data linkage would allow follow-up reviews and analyses of studies to be carried out more economically, comprehensively, and at a faster pace, compared to other methods. It will also help researchers to detect unpredictable events or to notice differences between cohorts that may not have been otherwise established in controlled preliminary settings. For example, the Scottish ‘PROSPER’ study has grown due to the linkage of data, and it has enabled researchers to ascertain the effects of cholesterol reducing medication as the leading prevention of heart disease (Shepherd et al.,

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