DATA SOURCES
DATA SOURCES
DEATH CERTIFICATES
The Lincoln team filtered all death certificate data from 2014-2016 based on our OHPND criteria. The data collected from OHPND death certificates provide valuable information on:
- cause of death
- place of death
- demographics
Death certificate data are vital to our geospatial approach, which allows to identify ‘hot spots’ of increased OHPND deaths. Once target neighborhoods are identified, the Lincoln team is able to tailor specific, community-centered interventions to specific locations.
MEDICAL EXAMINER REPORTS
A portion of all OHPND deaths will be referred to a NC Medical Examiner. These cases include a more complete overview of cause of death and often provide a(n):
- autopsy report
- toxicology report
Medical Examiner data give the Lincoln team access to detailed descriptions of cause of death and any substances that may have contributed to death.
EPIC MEDICAL RECORDS
The Lincoln team acquired permission to capture EPIC data for individuals identified as OHPND victims. EPIC is an electronic medical record database that captures:
- disease history
- medical encounters
- prescriptions/treatments
EPIC data provide an overview of a patient’s health history that allows us to identify medical factors that contributed to an outcome of OHPND. We hope to correlate certain diagnoses with OHPND in order to inform our community intervention.
HIE MEDICAL RECORDS
The North Carolina Health Information Exchange (HIE) captures medical encounters across all counties of North Carolina. The Lincoln Project was the first project is NC to obtain permission for the use of HIE data which provide:
- locations where patients sought treatment
- medical history
The benefit of utilizing both EPIC and HIE systems is that we are able to supplement incomplete data. The Lincoln team gains a broader, more complete view of a patient’s health history.
EMS ENCOUNTERS
The Lincoln team has partnered with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to obtain data on EMS encounters. EMS project managers are able to match OHPND victims to EMS encounters three years prior to date of death. EMS data include:
- date of emergency encounter
- location of emergency encounter
- reason for emergency encounter
Emergency encounters often provide rich descriptions of a patient’s health state. Individuals in the OHPND cohort are often socially isolated and may not seek regular preventative care, so capturing EMS data is an effective method to build an accurate health history.
CENSUS BUREAU DATA
The US Census Bureau gathers demographic and social statistics that can be traced to local communities and neighborhoods and includes information on:
- income
- education
- employment
- population
The Lincoln team utilizes census data to identify important social drivers that might contribute to an outcome of OHPND. We are able to link these social drivers with specific counties and regions to gain an understanding of the unique elements that affect communities in our area of interest.