Important collaboration makes multi-regional health data available to researchers to improve health of Canadians

The Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath) and Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN Canada) continue their exciting collaboration to provide researchers access to multi-regional health data. By leveraging data from multiple provinces and territories, this partnership enables researchers to explore large-scale population health trends, disease patterns, and healthcare utilization across Canada.

Supporting multi-regional research

Through HDRN Canada’s Data Access Support Hub (DASH), researchers can request access to CanPath’s extensive datasets, which include health, environmental, and behavioural data from more than 330,000 participants across Canada. DASH provides a streamlined, centralized process for requesting linked health data from multiple jurisdictions, making it easier to conduct cross-provincial research.

CanPath and HDRN Canada help researchers determine which data best align with their research questions, ensuring they can access the most relevant, high-quality datasets for their studies.

HDRN Canada resources

Researchers can explore a range of resources available on the HDRN Canada website, including:

• Data asset inventory – provides information about the data assets that can be requested through DASH for research projects
• Regional data information – describes requirements and procedures to access data at HDRN Canada Member Organization data centres
• Processes and requirements for each province – a table with key requirements and details to consider in each region
• An algorithms inventory – includes algorithms validated and tested for feasibility of implementation in two or more Canadian provinces and territories or nationally

These resources are invaluable for understanding the Canadian data landscape and planning research projects effectively.

New data linkages in Atlantic Canada

A major milestone in this partnership is linking administrative data from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to Atlantic PATH. This linkage provides researchers access to comprehensive health records, including hospitalizations, prescription medication use, diagnostic tests, and health outcomes.

This achievement was made possible through collaboration between HDRN Canada, Atlantic PATH, CanPath, and administrative data holders in the Atlantic provinces. With the transfer of Atlantic PATH baseline data to the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT) and Health Data Nova Scotia (HDNS), researchers can now apply to link Atlantic PATH data with provincial administrative health records, unlocking new opportunities for richer population health research in Atlantic Canada.

Multi-regional data in action: Advancing endometrial cancer research

The value of multi-regional data access is exemplified in the Endometrial Cancer Risks Study led by Dr. Aline Talhouk, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia and Director of Data Science and Informatics at OVCARE. Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in Canada, and while early detection significantly improves survival rates, prevention and screening remain costly and invasive. To address this gap, Dr. Talhouk’s study evaluates and enhances risk prediction models that can identify high-risk individuals, ultimately improving access to preventive care.

To ensure these models are generalizable, Dr. Talhouk’s research team leveraged linked CanPath data and multi-regional administrative datasets from three provinces, a process made possible through HDRN Canada’s DASH. By incorporating additional risk factors such as genetic predisposition, gender identity, environmental exposures, and socioeconomic status, this study highlights how cross-provincial data integration strengthens predictive accuracy and health equity. It also demonstrates how CanPath and HDRN Canada facilitate impactful research by enabling access to diverse, harmonized datasets.

Advancing health research across Canada

CanPath and HDRN Canada remain committed to expanding access to multi-regional linked data, supporting researchers in tackling critical health questions. By providing access to rich, harmonized datasets from across the country, this partnership facilitates research that informs policy, advances healthcare, and improves health outcomes for Canadians.

To explore linked data opportunities or start your research application, please contact the DASH team and explore the resources available on the DASH website.

For more information, please contact:

Megan Fleming
Communications & Knowledge Translation Officer
Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath)
info@canpath.ca

Data Access Support Hub Team

dash@hdrn.ca