Linkage and population data
We link longitudinal data and administrative records to broaden the study of health trajectories with security, governance and data protection.
What does linkage mean?
Linkage means connecting records about the same person across different sources, following security and governance rules.
In a cohort, much of the information comes from interviews and follow-ups carried out over time. These data are essential, but they do not capture everything that happens between one visit and the next.
Where there is authorised institutional access, administrative records can complement this story with information on visits, hospitalisations, diagnoses, service use and other events over the course of life.
A more complete story over time
Complementing self-reports
Comparing and complementing information reported by families with official health records when such information is available for authorised use.
Following service use
Studying patterns of consultations, hospitalisations and other contacts with health services over time.
Understanding context
Integrating social and environmental information that helps explain how events and conditions in the local area enter health trajectories.
Observing long-term outcomes
Extending the follow-up of important life events, including health outcomes and, where possible, information from other authorised public sources.
What kinds of records can contribute?
The project considers different types of public records, always depending on institutional authorisation, availability and a defined scientific purpose.
Health and hospitalisations
Records of visits, admissions and other events related to the use of health services.
Health surveillance
Information produced by official notification and monitoring systems for health conditions.
Social and environmental context
Records that help study exposures and events in the local area, such as states of emergency or violence.
Future trajectories
Where there is authorised access, information from other public sectors can help broaden the study of long-term outcomes.
How are two sources connected?
Prepare
Sources are organised according to rules defined in advance for the project and for each institution involved.
Compare
Information available in the records is compared using linkage procedures suited to the origin and quality of each database.
Review
Uncertain or inconsistent matches are handled conservatively and may be classified as non-matches.
Pseudonymise
After linkage, the data used in analyses are separated from direct identifiers whenever possible.
Identity and analysis stay separate
Linkage is only useful if participant protection is part of the method from the start.
Personal identifiers are handled in a restricted environment, with access limited to the authorised team. After linkage, the data used for analysis are pseudonymised.
The key that links identifiers to research codes is kept separately, protected and encrypted.
Inconsistent matches are not forced: when there is not enough evidence that two records belong to the same person, they are treated as non-matches.
Different methods for different sources
Larger databases may require probabilistic linkage procedures, while local records may allow assisted or manual review under institutional supervision.
The choice depends on the structure, quality and availability of the data. The goal is to increase accuracy without lowering participant protection standards.
Extending the 2019 Rio Grande Cohort
The 2019 Rio Grande Cohort follows mothers, children and families from birth. Linkage makes it possible to extend this story by connecting, securely and with authorisation, information collected directly by the research to records produced by public services and systems.
This can help study events that happen between follow-ups and observe trajectories over longer periods without relying solely on new interviews.
Explore the 2019 Rio Grande Cohort →Infrastructure that lasts
Enriched longitudinal data
Expanding the Cohort's capacity to study health, services and context over time.
An institutional protocol for secure linkage
Consolidating linkage, protection and governance procedures that can guide future research projects.
Evidence to understand gaps
Producing analyses that can identify patterns of service use and possible gaps in care along the trajectories studied.
Opportunities to collaborate
We are open to dialogue with researchers and institutions interested in longitudinal studies, record linkage, population health, service use, governance and data protection.
Propose a collaboration