For the Public
Governments and public bodies collect information about you from birth and throughout the life cycle. Health and health-related data are gathered via interactions with the health care system, through Vital Statistics and by tracking social determinants of health.
Health data are important to researchers because they include information about health care services, health status, individual risk factors, such as diet, exercise, smoking or alcohol consumption, and social risk factors like socioeconomic status, neighbourhood of residence, and housing, all of which can provide critical insights into the wellbeing of populations. Researchers use health and health-related data to learn about which health services are working, what needs to be improved, where other health-supporting services are required and how to help individuals, communities and societies stay healthy.
HDRN Canada facilitates researcher access to health data from multiple regions across Canada in order to increase the quality of studies on health-related issues that affect all of us, like hospital wait times, chronic illnesses, mental health and disease prevention, and to strengthen the quality of research findings. We enable multi-regional data access in a way that respects privacy law and promotes Indigenous data sovereignty. But it’s not all about researchers. We believe strongly in the importance of public involvement and influence in the development of health data systems. That’s why we created HDRN Canada’s Public Advisory Council, which works closely with our Public Engagement Working Group to ensure the meaningful public engagement in HDRN Canada’s overall work and goals.
Public Advisory Council
The Public Advisory Council provides guidance to HDRN Canada on matters related to the intersection of health data and the public interest.
Public Engagement
The Public Engagement Working Group was established to ensure the meaningful engagement of the public in HDRN Canada’s overall work and goals.