Data and infrastructure
Data linkage is a powerful methodology used to better understand population health. In Western Australia (WA), the WA Health Data Linkage Strategy aims to reform, modernise, simplify, and improve access to health data. By linking data from various sources, researchers can gain insights that ultimately benefit patients and the WA community. The Data Linkage Services in WA facilitate access to linked data for research, planning, and evaluation purposes. They have linked over 150 million records from 50 routinely linked datasets, creating one of the most comprehensive linkage systems in the world.
Access to quality data is a critical aspect of health and medical research and discovery. Data linkage is the process for identifying multiple appearances of people within one database and for combining information about people across different databases while still preserving privacy.
The Department of Health provides data sets, reports and analysis across a number of health related areas including:
- health risk factors
- diseases and populations
- workforce and clinical planning.
The information is available to assist researchers and educators, health professionals, government and non-government organisations.
Data Linkage Services WA
Data Linkage Services WA aims to improve outcomes for the Western Australian community by putting linked data at the core of decision-making and research. They facilitate ethical access to linked data for approved purposes, including medical research and service evaluation. Over 150 million records from 50 routinely linked datasets have been integrated, creating one of the most comprehensive linkage systems globally.
Epidemiology
The Epidemiology Directorate within the Department of Health in Western Australia is responsible for collecting and analysing population health data. They provide evidence-based services to improve the health status of Western Australians by monitoring health, conducting analyses, and collaborating with stakeholders.
Data WA is the place to discover WA public sector data and connect with the broader data community. The data catalogue provides access to datasets provided by organisations across the public sector and includes both open data and data that requires permission to access.
PeopleWA is a linked data asset offering a powerful tool for research, government policy and service improvement. By connecting multiple sources of information through data linkage, PeopleWA creates richer, more comprehensive datasets. The insights generated from these datasets support approved users to address the most complex social, health, environmental and economic issues facing the state.
Administered by the Office of Digital Government, in partnership with the Department of Health, PeopleWA holds linked datasets from the departments of Communities, Education, Health, Justice (including Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages) and the Western Australia Police Force.
Access to PeopleWA data requires an application with several review stages to ensure that any data is used in the right way.
The Western Australian Child Development Atlas is an online, interactive mapping tool that informs policies and services to improve child outcomes. It overlays community characteristics with child development indicators, helping identify priority issues across communities.
The Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC) was established by Murdoch University to provide expertise in metabolic phenotyping and as a research hub to support the bioscience sector. As the international centre of expertise in metabolic phenotyping, the ANPC provides an important new platform for research across the full spectrum of health, food and the environment.
The Chem Centre is Western Australia’s leading chemical science facility, providing chemical and forensic science services to the community. It has formed strong industry and academic collaborations to undertake product research aimed at value-adding and increasing market potential to assist in growing and diversifying the WA economy.
DUG Technology, formerly known as DownUnder GeoSolutions, is a technology company specializing in high-performance computing (HPC). They offer powerful compute and storage resources through their DUG HPC Cloud. Additionally, DUG provides geoscience services, maximizing the value of seismic data. Their expertise spans analytical software development and sustainable, green computing solutions.
The National Imaging Facility (NIF) is Australia’s advanced imaging network, providing open access to flagship imaging equipment, expertise, tools, data, and analysis. As part of the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) framework, NIF offers state-of-the-art imaging capabilities for the Australian research community. It addresses Australia’s strategic science and research priorities, benefiting Australian industry and contributing to the health and well-being of Australians.
NIF focuses on 3 main themes: Animals, Plants, and Materials Imaging; Human Imaging; and Molecular Imaging and Radiochemistry.
Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre is a high-performance computing facility to enable research and analysis across a variety of sectors that utilise supercomputing, data cloud services and visualisation. A joint venture by the Western Australian universities, the centre provides support and training opportunities to researchers and industry personnel.