Abstract
IntroductionHealth care systems have faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to timely population-based data has been vital to informing public health policy and practice.MethodsWe describe how ICES, an independent not-for-profit research and analytic institute in Ontario, Canada, pivoted existing research infrastructure and engaged health system stakeholders to provide near real-time population-based data and analytics to support Ontario’s COVID-19 pandemic response.ResultsSince April 2020, ICES provided the Ontario COVID-19 Provincial Command Table and public health partners with regular and ad hoc reports on SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 vaccine coverage. These reports: 1) helped identify congregate care/shared living settings that needed testing and prevention efforts early in the pandemic; 2) provided early indications of inequities in testing and infection in marginalized neighbourhoods, including areas with higher proportions of immigrants and visible minorities; 3) identified areas with high test positivity, which helped Public Health Units target and evaluate prevention efforts; and 4) contributed to altering the province’s COVID-19 vaccine roll-out strategy to target high-risk neighbourhoods and helping Public Health Units and community organizations plan local vaccination programs. In addition, ICES is a key component of the Ontario Health Data Platform, which provides scientists with data access to conduct COVID-19 research and analyses.Discussion and ConclusionICES was well-positioned to provide rapid analyses for decision-makers to respond to the evolving public health emergency, and continues to contribute to Ontario’s pandemic response by providing timely, relevant reports to health system stakeholders and facilitating data access for externally-funded COVID-19 research.
Highlights
Health care systems have faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic
We highlight the frequent COVID-19 analytics and reports provided by ICES starting in April 2020 and describe their impact on practice and policy
ICES was the first organization to report on SARS-CoV-2 testing rates and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases for each long-term care facility and retirement home in Ontario, though we could not report on testing rates in retirement homes because there is currently no method to identify residents using administrative data
Summary
Health care systems have faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to timely population-based data has been vital to informing public health policy and practice. Data and analytics have been crucial to inform and plan strategies to mitigate COVID-19’s impact to the health system in Ontario. Near real-time data and analyses were used to describe the evolution of COVID-19 at the population-level and in high-risk populations to plan targeted preventive efforts and inform policy. Data collected on confirmed COVID-19 cases and COVID-19related interventions such as hospitalization, intensive care and mechanical ventilations revealed groups at high risk of both COVID-19 infection and severe disease, which informed vaccination strategies [3]
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