The power of administrative data in national studies: experiences from the Scottish Burden of Disease study

Abstract

Abstract In 2013, the Scottish Burden of Disease Study (SBoD) study set out with an ambitious aim of comprehensively estimating the burden of 132 causes of ill-health and mortality. The study utilised the rich and widespread data which is recorded as a by-product of individual encounters across the universally available and free at point-of-contact healthcare services in Scotland, and other long-standing survey initiatives. It was carried out as an independent national burden of disease study, but used Global Burden of Disease methodology for disability weights. In 2017, our first report outlined the contribution of causes of disease and injury of DALYs. This was followed up in a 2018, with a further report highlighting the effect of socioeconomic inequalities in DALYs. In this presentation we will show the key steps involved in undertaking the SBoD study drawing on available data sources in Scotland. From the Scottish experience we will highlight important issues in knowledge translation for national burden of diseases studies to consider when specific choices are made on the methodological inputs into calculations for both YLL and YLD, specifically: (i) the differential impact between different life tables; (ii) the impact of differences in severity distributions; and (iii) the impact of using different standard populations when directly standardising rates.