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Development of a computer linkage system for a blood recipient notification program in Nova Scotia
Susie elSaadany1, Maura Ricketts, Antonio Giulivi
1Statistics and Risk Assessment Section, Health Care Acquired Infections Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9. susie_elsaadany@hc-sc.gc.ca
Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique
|November 27, 2002
Summary
Computer-assisted record linkage successfully updated addresses for 65% of blood recipients in Nova Scotia. This method is valuable for infectious disease surveillance and future look-back studies.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Health Informatics
Background:
- Effective surveillance of infectious diseases relies on accurate recipient data.
- Contacting blood recipients for look-back studies requires up-to-date address information.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate computer-assisted record linkage for infectious disease surveillance.
- To assess the utility of the Nova Scotia blood recipient notification program for data linkage.
Main Methods:
- Developed a multiple-pass, probabilistic record linkage algorithm.
- Linked Nova Scotia Phase I Blood Bank File records with Health Card Registration File records.
- Utilized variables such as name, date of birth, gender, and health care number for matching.
Main Results:
- Out of 23,925 eligible blood bank records, 13,432 were available for linkage after removing duplicates and deceased cases.
- Successfully linked 8,713 (65%) cases to the 1998 Health Card Registration Data File.
- Identified 7.8% duplications and 36.3% deceased cases within the initial blood bank file.
Conclusions:
- Multiple-pass record linkage is effective for maximizing correctly matched records in look-back projects.
- Future linkages should incorporate supplementary data files to improve address accuracy and overcome data quality issues.