Housing and Health: Linking Population Health Survey Data to Housing Assistance Data

Introduction The linkage of survey data with administrative data enhances the scientific value and analytic potential of both sources of information. Combining multiple data sources facilitates richer analyses and allows data users to answer research questions that cannot be addressed easily using a single data source. Objectives and Approach Recently, the United States National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) collaborated to link two population health surveys conducted by NCHS with housing assistance program data maintained by HUD. The resulting linked data files enable researchers to examine relationships between the receipt of federal housing assistance and health. In this talk, we will describe some of the challenges faced when initiating a data sharing agreement between two federal agencies governed by distinct legislative authorities, particularly issues related to legal requirements and data access. Results We will describe each of the data sources used in the linkage as well as the methodology used to combine the data. Lastly, the discussion will focus on the inter-agency collaboration that led to the production of the supporting technical documentation developed to assist researchers using the linked data files. The linkage of NCHS survey data and HUD administrative data serves as an example of how two agencies were able to overcome challenges to successfully form a data sharing partnership as a cost-effective means to develop a robust data source that benefits the collaborating agencies as well as policy makers and outside researchers. Conclusion/Implications Both agencies anticipate that this partnership will continue as additional survey and administrative data are collected

Quality of linked data: Linking the National Hospital Care Survey Data to the National Death Index

Introduction Data linkages can produce rich data resources to address a variety of research topics. However, assessing linkage quality can be challenging given that there are many approaches and no clear best practices. Objectives and Approach Through its Data Linkage Program, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) links national survey data with vital and administrative records. A recent linkage of the National Hospital Care Survey data with the National Death Index employed a new linkage methodology, which included a first time approach for validating the results within the linkage algorithm. Results The new methodology includes two passes: a deterministic linkage, followed by a probabilistic approach based on the Fellegi-Sunter methodology. In the second pass, a key identifier, Social Security Number (SSN), was not used as a linkage variable but instead to determine link accuracy, when available on the patient record. A model was then built to predict link accuracy status according to the computed Fellegi-Sunter total pair weight and then used to estimate it for those patient records without an SSN. Results from this new approach were compared with results from prior linkage methodologies and generated higher match rates and lower error rates. The linkage methodology designed for this study is now being tested on other types of input data such as data from household surveys. Conclusion/Implications The linkage approach may be incorporated into additional linkages conducted by NCHS. This talk will describe the input sources for this linkage, the methodology used, the error rate assessment and then discuss conclusions and implications for precision and efficiency

The last commons: (re)constructing an ocean future

Recent research on the global ocean has emphasized diverse, dramatic, and largely ominous shifts in the ways that oceans function as a socionatural system. While all of this research provides a critical body of evidence for understanding what future ocean we will experience, the future of nature-society relations is ultimately about shaping human systems and behaviors. The last several decades have seen notable changes to marine property regimes, institutions, and modes of governance, with considerable consequences for individuals, communities, and political and economic systems. A growing body of evidence suggests that these emerging dynamics are increasingly resembling the established neoliberal political economic relations seen on land, including the enclosure, privatization, commodification, and marketization of previously untargeted forms of natural capital. Here we identify historical trends in the enclosure of ocean spaces and resources, how these enclosures emerged, and the discourses that have facilitated their expansion. We contrast the original goals and expectations in creating these enclosures with the reality of their consequences in practice, highlighting the inequitable outcomes for developing countries and marginalized actors. We highlight two case studies in contemporary marine enclosure, focusing on the role of privatization. Finally, we conclude by contrasting two possible future oceans. The neoliberal ocean future predicts the concentration of ocean resource wealth into the hands of privileged actors while traditional claims based on non-economic values are weakened, marginalized, and rendered illicit. In contrast, an alternate ocean future involving the transparent allocation of rights based on equity and distributional justice has the potential to recover the benefits of communal management, recognizing the inextricable linkages between human well-being and our future ocean

Elemental ratios link environmental change and human health

Humans have fundamentally altered the cycling of multiple elements on a global scale. These changes impact the structure and function of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, with many implications for human health. Most prior studies linking biogeochemical changes to human health have evaluated the effects of single elements in isolation. However, the relative availability of multiple elements often determines the biological impact of shifts in the concentration of a single element. The balance of multiple elements is the focus of ecological stoichiometry, which highlights the importance of elemental ratios in biological function across all systems and scales of organization. Consequently, ecological stoichiometry is a promising framework to inform research on the links between global changes to elemental cycles and human health. We synthesize evidence that elemental ratios link global change with human health through biological processes occurring at two scales: in the environment (natural ecosystems and food systems) and within the human body. Elemental ratios in the environment impact the key ecosystem processes of productivity and biodiversity, both of which contribute to the production of food, toxins, allergens, and parasites. Elemental ratios in diet impact processes within the human body, including the function and interactions of the immune system, parasites, and the non-pathogenic microbiome. Collectively, these stoichiometric effects contribute to a wide range of non-infectious and infectious diseases. By describing stoichiometric mechanisms linking global change, ecological processes, and human health, we hope to inspire future empirical and theoretical research on this theme.National Science Foundatio