Health Data Linkage

To study environmental health, researchers need access to both health records and information about environmental factors such as air pollution. However, health and environmental data are often stored in separate databases. A common method for combining this information is by using a person’s postal code to connect their location with environmental exposure data.

CANUE is transforming environmental health research in Canada by partnering with leading health databases such as the CHILD (Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development) birth cohort study, the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health and the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, as well as provincial administrative health data stewards from across the country. By connecting environmental exposure data to these health records, CANUE and stewards of large health database provide ready-to-use data to researchers across all major Canadian universities.

The process of linking CANUE environmental data with health records is efficient and straightforward. First, CANUE delivers standardized environmental datasets to health data stewards, who are responsible for securely linking the environmental data to health databases using the postal codes of individuals in their databases. Health database managers then make linked CANUE data accessible to research teams via their own data access procedures. This streamlines the research process by providing ready-to-use datasets, significantly accelerating discoveries in the field of environmental health. Through this process CANUE and its health data partners have built an unprecedented capacity for researchers to study how multiple environmental factors are linked to a wide range of health outcomes, contributing to evidence-based strategies for healthier communities.