Barriers and facilitators for using administrative data for surveillance purpose: a narrative overview

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Administrative data, though not designed for surveillance, are widely used for public health monitoring and patient safety.
• Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) surveillance in Canada often relies on administrative data.
• Challenges exist in optimizing the use of administrative data for public health surveillance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a narrative overview of barriers and facilitators for using administrative data in surveillance.
• To focus specifically on the application of administrative data for healthcare-associated infection (HAI) surveillance in Canada.
• To offer practical recommendations for enhancing administrative data utilization and quality.

Main Methods:

• A narrative overview approach was employed.
• Searches were conducted in Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar, supplemented by reference list reviews.
• Articles focused on administrative data in general or HAI surveillance were included; validation studies and meta-analyses were excluded.
• A total of 90 articles were included in the analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified 78 distinct barriers to administrative data utilization at individual, organizational, and systemic levels.
• Outlined 75 facilitators and potential solutions to improve the quality and use of administrative data.
• Highlighted the complexity of integrating administrative data into robust surveillance systems.

Conclusions:

• Understanding the identified barriers and facilitators is key to improving administrative data use.
• Practical recommendations can guide stakeholders in optimizing administrative data for public health surveillance.
• Enhanced utilization of administrative data can strengthen monitoring of public health and patient safety, particularly for HAI in Canada.