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Matching Special Olympics registration data with administrative health databases: Feasibility and health status
Meghann Lloyd1, Kristin Dobranowski1, Stephanie Y Cheng2
1Ontario Tech University, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2000 Simcoe St N. Oshawa, ON, L1G 0C5, Canada.
Insights
Data from Special Olympics athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is largely representative of the broader IDD population in Canada, though age adjustments are needed. Special Olympics participants showed less health system use, suggesting potentially better health.
Area of Science:
- Health services research
- Disability studies
- Pediatric health
Background:
- Children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face significant health disparities.
- It remains unclear if Special Olympics participants with IDD represent the broader population of youth with IDD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of linking Special Olympics Ontario (SOO) registrant data with provincial health administrative databases.
- To compare demographic and clinical characteristics between SOO participants and non-participants with IDD.
Main Methods:
- Deterministic and probabilistic matching techniques were employed to link SOO registration data with ICES health databases.
- Prevalence of asthma, diabetes, and mental disorders, along with demographic variables, were analyzed using established algorithms.
Main Results:
- A successful data linkage rate exceeding 90% was achieved, encompassing 8404 children and youth (ages 0-19).
- SOO participants with IDD were comparable to non-participants on clinical and demographic factors, except for being older on average.
- SOO participants identified in health databases showed lower health system utilization compared to those identified by ICES, potentially indicating better health.
Conclusions:
- Research findings from Special Olympics Ontario participants with IDD can be generalized to the wider Canadian IDD population after age adjustment.
- Caution is advised when comparing overall morbidity levels between Special Olympics participants and the general IDD population.
Background:
Children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience health disparities. What is unknown is if data collected from children and youth with IDD who participate in Special Olympics is representative of children and youth with IDD who do not.
Objectives:
Aim 1: determine the feasibility of matching a database of registrants from Special Olympics Ontario (SOO), with population-based health services databases in Ontario, Canada housed at ICES. Aim 2: evaluate the differences between the database sources with regards to demographic variables and clinical status.
Methods:
Using deterministic and probabilistic matching, registration data from SOO were matched to administrative health databases. Established algorithms were used to determine the prevalence of asthma, diabetes, and mental disorder in addition to demographic variables.
Results:
The matching rate was over 90%; 8404 were attributed to children and youth between the ages of 0-19 years. When comparing SOO participants with IDD to non-SOO participants with IDD, children and youth who participate in SOO were, on average, older with no further differences between groups on clinical or demographic variables. When comparing those previously not identified in the health services databases (from SOO) to those with IDD identified by ICES, the SOO participants appear to use the health system less, possibly indicating a better health status.
Conclusions:
Research conducted on child and youth who participate in Special Olympics Ontario can be generalized to the broader population of children and youth with IDD in Canada when adjusted for age; however, care should be taken when comparing levels of overall morbidity.
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