• Introduction to data linkage and its history
• Description of the Centre for Health Record Linkage (CHeReL) and how record linkage works
• Quality of data linkage
• Ethics, data security, applying to CHeReL for data
• Types of population health databases
• ICD coding
• Constructing study populations
• Data wrangling to construct dataset(s) that can be used for statistical analysis 
• Measures of health care utilisation, health care episodes, and inter-hospital transfers
• Data quality I: Preparing data for analysis
• Data quality II: Accuracy and reliability of data sources
• Measures of health care outcomes: treatment outcomes and adverse events
• Introduction to survival analysis and Cox regression
• Covariates for risk adjustment: sociodemographic, illness severity, and comorbidity

On completion of this short course participants will be able to:

• understand the theory of data linkage methods and features of comprehensive data linkage systems, sufficient to know the sources and limitations of linked health data sets, and in particular those for New South Wales;
• apply epidemiological principles to the design of studies using linked data;
• construct numerators and denominators for the analysis of disease trends and health care utilisation and outcomes;
• assess the accuracy and reliability of data sources;
• check data linkages and assure the quality of the study process, e.g. consistency of definitions, missing data;
• list the issues to be considered when analysing large linked data files;
• utilise data wrangling techniques to prepare linked data files for analysis, derive exposure and outcome variables, relate numerators and denominators and produce results from statistical procedures.

The course is suitable for people with no previous experience in the analysis of linked health data. However, it does assume familiarity with introductory statistical and epidemiological methods, as taught, for example, in a Master of Public Health degree course.

The course also assumes basic programming skills in either SAS or R. 

Academic, research, and professional staff from the following organisations contribute to the delivery of this short course:

Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney

Centre for Health Record Linkage (CHeReL)

Health Information Management Consultant

Women and Babies Research, Kolling Institute

Important: This short course is a variant of the unit of study, Analysis of Linked Health Data (PUBH5215). It enables you to complete the unit without formal university enrolment or assessment requirements. You will receive a certificate of completion, however, you will not receive credit points towards a University of Sydney degree.

To receive credit points and an academic transcript:

• enrol via Sydney Student, if you are a current Postgraduate student at the University of Sydney
• enrol via Medicine Postgraduate Non Award if you are not a current Postgraduate student at the University of Sydney.