Research Data Repository Research Articles

Prenatal antibiotics exposure and the risk of autism spectrum disorders: A population-based cohort study.

BackgroundPrenatal antibiotic exposure induces changes in infants’ gut microbiota composition and is suggested as a possible contributor in the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this study, we examined the association between prenatal antibiotic exposure and the risk of ASD.MethodsThis was a population-based cohort study utilizing the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository. The cohort included 214 834 children born in Manitoba, Canada between April 1, 1998 and March 31, 2016. Exposure was defined as having filled one or more antibiotic prescription during pregnancy. The outcome was autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the risk of developing ASD in the overall cohort and in a sibling cohort.ResultsOf all subjects, 80 750 (37.6%) were exposed to antibiotics prenatally. During follow-up, 2965 children received an ASD diagnosis. Compared to children who were not exposed to antibiotics prenatally, those who were exposed had a higher risk of ASD: (adjusted HR 1.10 [95% CI 1.01, 1.19]). The association was observed in those exposed to antibiotics in the second or third trimester (HR 1.11 [95% CI 1.01, 1.23] and 1.17 [95% CI 1.06, 1.30], respectively). In the siblings’ cohort, ASD risk estimate remained unchanged (adjusted HR 1.08 [95% CI 0.90, 1.30], although it was not statistically significant.ConclusionsPrenatal antibiotic exposure is associated with a small increase in the risk of ASD. Given the potential of residual confounding beyond what it was controlled through our study design and because of possible confounding by indication, such a small risk increase in the population is not expected to be clinically significant.

On a Quest for Cultural Change - Surveying Research Data Management Practices at Delft University of Technology

The Data Stewardship project is a new initiative from the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. Its aim is to create mature working practices and policies regarding research data management across all TU Delft faculties. The novelty of this project relies on having a dedicated person, the so-called ‘Data Steward’, embedded in each faculty to approach research data management from a more discipline-specific perspective. It is within this framework that a research data management survey was carried out at the faculties that had a Data Steward in place by July 2018. The goal was to get an overview of the general data management practices, and use its results as a benchmark for the project. The total response rate was 11 to 37% depending on the faculty. Overall, the results show similar trends in all faculties, and indicate lack of awareness regarding different data management topics such as automatic data backups, data ownership, relevance of data management plans, awareness of FAIR data principles and usage of research data repositories. The results also show great interest towards data management, as more than ~80% of the respondents in each faculty claimed to be interested in data management training and wished to see the summary of survey results. Thus, the survey helped identified the topics the Data Stewardship project is currently focusing on, by carrying out awareness campaigns and providing training at both university and faculty levels.

Factors influencing research data communication on Zika virus: a grounded theory

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model to illustrate factors influencing research data communication on diseases caused by the Zika virus.Design/methodology/approachThe grounded theory methodology was adopted. For data collection, interviews were conducted with 13 Brazilian researchers involved with the Zika virus theme. Data analysis was performed using the open, axial and selective coding processes, according to the principles of the grounded theory.FindingsBased on data collection and analysis, seven theoretical categories representing intervening factors in Zika virus research data communication were identified. The emerging theory showed the centrality of researchers’ expectations for acknowledgment and reward, influenced by the aspects of research funding and academic culture. Three factors involved in the macro processes of research data communication: data use, data production and data sharing. In the use and production processes, factors related to collaboration figured most strongly. In the production and sharing processes, the factors regarding data processing and the use of research data repositories were more pronounced. Finally, data sharing, and the possibility of reusing data are directly affected by the social context of Zika virus disease as an emerging disease.Originality/valueThe study presents a theory developed systematically to explain the phenomenon of communication of research data on Zika virus. The theory presents a set of intervening factors of the process of communication of research data and discusses the factors in light of the fundamentals of information science.

Hydrometeorological measurements in peatland‐dominated, discontinuous permafrost at Scotty Creek, Northwest Territories, Canada

AbstractThe discontinuous permafrost region of northwestern Canada is experiencing rapid warming resulting in dramatic land cover change from forested peatland permafrost terrain to treeless wetlands. Extensive research has been conducted throughout this region to gain insight into how climate‐induced land cover change will impact water resources and ecosystem function. This paper presents a hydrological and micrometeorological dataset collected in the Scotty Creek basin, Northwest Territories, Canada over the period of 01 October 2014 to 30 September 2015, a sample of the intensive and coordinated measurements collected annually at this site. Micrometeorological data collected from four stations, one located in each of the land cover types representative of those comprising the Scotty Creek basin including bog, channel fen, stable peat plateau and peat plateau undergoing rapid permafrost degradation and loss, are presented. Monitored micrometeorological variables include incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, precipitation (rain and snow) and snow depth. Deep ground temperatures (~1–10 m below the ground surface) from a channel fen as well as disturbed sites common to the basin including a seismic line and winter road are presented. Water levels were also monitored in the representative land cover types over this period. This dataset is available from the Wilfrid Laurier University Library Research Data Repository (https://doi.org/10.5683/SP/OQDRJG) and can be used in coordination with other hydrological and micrometeorological datasets to examine spatio‐temporal effects of meteorological conditions on local hydrological responses across cold regions.

Re-identifiability of genomic data and the GDPR: Assessing the re-identifiability of genomic data in light of the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

EMBO Reports (2019) e48316 Human genomic data have become an important and rich resource for biomedical and clinical research. At the same time, concerns about the identifiability of genomic data have been central to discussions regarding adequate protection of personal data and privacy. Addressing such concerns is paramount for research and clinical data repositories, as well as for ensuring interoperability of standards across jurisdictions. However, in spite of increased scholarly and policy scrutiny during the past decade, questions remain about when and if genomic data can be truly irreversibly de‐identified. > … the new law in the EU mandates that data that has been merely pseudonymized is regarded as personal data that falls under its scope, while anonymous data would not be subject to the regulation. These discussions have acquired renewed salience in Europe after the EU Regulation 2016/679, also known as the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679&from=EN), came into effect. At its core, the GDPR mandates a decentralized, context‐specific and risk‐based approach to data protection with emphasis on the accountability of data controllers (Arts. 5(2) and 24) [1]. Additionally, under a so‐called “research exemption”, the GDPR allows for some flexibility for the processing of personal data for scientific research (Art. 9(2)(j)), and it relaxes the stringent requirements for specific consent (Recital 33) and data storage (Art. 5 (1)(e)). Moreover, it allows EU Member States to introduce further provisions for the processing of genetic, biometric, and health‐related data (Art. 9(4)). The GDPR lists genetic data as “special categories of personal data” or sensitive data (Art. 9), which makes their processing for research purposes (Art. 9(2)(j)) subject to the adoption of adequate organizational and technical safeguards, such as pseudonymization (Art. 89(1)) [1], [2]. Pseudonymization is …

Study of Asian RDR based on re3data

PurposeRDR has become an essential academic infrastructure in an atmosphere that facilitates the openness of research output granted by public research funds. This study aims to understand operational status of 152 Asian data repositories on re3data and cluster repositories into four groups according to their operational status. In addition, identify the main subject areas of RDRs in Asian countries and try to understand what topic correlations exist between data archived in Asian countries.Design/methodology/approachThis study extracts metadata from re3data and analyzes it in various ways to grasp the current status of research data repositories in Asian countries. The author clusters the repositories into four groups using hierarchical cluster analysis according to the level of operation. In addition, for identifying the main subject areas of RDRs in Asian countries, extracted the keywords of the subject field assigned to the each repository, and Pathfinder Network (PFNET) analysis is performed.FindingsAbout 70 per cent of the Asian-country repositories are those where licenses or policies are declared but not granted permanent identifiers and international-level certification. As a result of the subject domain analysis, eight clusters are formed centering on life sciences and natural sciences.Originality/valueThe research output in developing countries, especially non-English-speaking countries, tends not to be smoothly circulated in the international community due to the immaturity of the open-access culture, as well as linguistic and technical problems. This study has value, in that it investigates the status of Asian countries’ research data management and global distribution infrastructure in global open-science trends.

Economic analysis of alternative pembrolizumab and nivolumab dosing strategies at an academic cancer center.

6504 Background: Pembrolizumab (P) and nivolumab (N) were initially investigated and FDA-approved with weight-based dosing strategies, but later the approval label was amended to a fixed dose administration. Given increasing concerns about financial toxicity of cancer therapies, we hypothesize that weight-based dosing of P and N and allowing vial sharing among patients will result in substantial cost savings. Methods: We obtained IRB approval to retrospectively examine all outpatient doses of P and N given at three Stanford Medicine infusion centers between July 1, 2018 and Oct 31, 2018 using the Stanford Medicine Research Data Repository (STARR) database. We performed cost-minimization analysis modeling the impact of dosing strategies based upon patient weight versus fixed dosing (2 mg/kg vs 200 mg q3wks for P; 3 mg/kg vs 240 mg q2wks or 6 mg/kg vs 480 q4wks for N). “Dose-minimization” (DM) was defined as whichever dose was lower (weight-based or fixed dose). The impact of allowing vial sharing (considering commercially available vial sizes) between patients treated at the same site and on the same date was assessed. Average sales price (ASP) from Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for Part B drugs was used for cost estimates. Results: A total of 1,029 doses of P or N were administered across a variety of cancer types. For most doses (N = 789, 77%), the calculated weight-based dose was less than the fixed dose. DM resulted in decreased usage and expenditures of both P and N, and a further decrease was observed with vial sharing. Total savings estimated with DM and vial sharing strategy were > $1.4 million (Table). This amounted to savings of > 22,000 mg of P (112 fixed doses) and > 11000 mg of N (47 fixed doses). Savings were greatest at the highest volume infusion center. Conclusions: Alternative dosing strategies of P and N would result in significantly less drug utilization and pharmaceutical expenditure without anticipated impact on efficacy. Potential barriers to this approach include existing policies regarding vial sharing and drug vial sizes. [Table: see text]

Emerging Roles for Optimising Re-Use of Open Government Data

This paper describes a small-scale study to investigate the missions, services and operational tasks provided by four open government data centers: NYC OpenData (New York Open Data Center), DataSF (open data portal of San Francisco), WPRDC (Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center) and the London Datastore (Greater London open data portal). The findings are used to propose three emerging specialist data roles for open government data (OGD) centers. The methodology used was an analysis of the textual content of the data center websites, to identify the common elements of the mission and services. A common mission across all four open government data centers was ‘to improve the use of data’. The range of data center services and tasks identified and extracted from the websites, could be classified into five common categories: Availability, Understandability, Technical Help, Social Engagement, and Improve User Data Literacy. Three new specialist open government data roles were proposed, which were framed to facilitate the delivery of the services identified in this study: Data Interpreter, Data Consultant and Data Visual Assistant. In parallel with existing research data policies and guidelines, these three specialist OGD roles could be extended and applied across other open data portals and domain-based data centers e.g. research data repositories, to optimise the delivery of open data, to facilitate greater value from data sharing, to maximize the understanding of complex data and to minimize the subsequent misuse of data.

Hydrometeorological data from Marmot Creek Research Basin, Canadian Rockies

Abstract. Meteorological, snow survey, streamflow, and groundwater data are presented from Marmot Creek Research Basin, Alberta, Canada. The basin is a 9.4 km2, alpine–montane forest headwater catchment of the Saskatchewan River basin that provides vital water supplies to the Prairie Provinces of Canada. It was heavily instrumented, experimented upon, and operated by several federal government agencies between 1962 and 1986, during which time its main and sub-basin streams were gauged, automated meteorological stations at multiple elevations were installed, groundwater observation wells were dug and automated, and frequent manual measurements of snow accumulation and ablation and other weather and water variables were made. Over this period, mature evergreen forests were harvested in two sub-basins, leaving large clear cuts in one basin and a “honeycomb” of small forest clearings in another basin. Whilst meteorological measurements and sub-basin streamflow discharge weirs in the basin were removed in the late 1980s, the federal government maintained the outlet streamflow discharge measurements and a nearby high-elevation meteorological station, and the Alberta provincial government maintained observation wells and a nearby fire weather station. Marmot Creek Research Basin was intensively re-instrumented with 12 automated meteorological stations, four sub-basin hydrometric sites, and seven snow survey transects starting in 2004 by the University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology. The observations provide detailed information on meteorology, precipitation, soil moisture, snowpack, streamflow, and groundwater during the historical period from 1962 to 1987 and the modern period from 2005 to the present time. These data are ideal for monitoring climate change, developing hydrological process understanding, evaluating process algorithms and hydrological, cryospheric, or atmospheric models, and examining the response of basin hydrological cycling to changes in climate, extreme weather, and land cover through hydrological modelling and statistical analyses. The data presented are publicly available from Federated Research Data Repository (https://doi.org/10.20383/101.09, Fang et al., 2018).

Assessing Author Identifiers: Preparing for a Linked Data Approach to Name Authority Control in an Institutional Repository Context

Linked data solutions for name authority control in digital libraries are an area of growing interest, particularly among institutional repositories (IRs). This article first considers the shift from traditional authority files to author identifiers, highlighting some of the challenges and possibilities. An analysis of author name strings in Duke University's open access repository, DukeSpace, is conducted to identify a suitable source of author URIs for Duke's newly launched repository for research data. Does one of the three prominent international authority sources—Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF), Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), and Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID)—demonstrate the most comprehensive uptake? Finally, recommendations surrounding a technical approach to leveraging author Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) at Duke are briefly considered.

Prescription medication use during pregnancies that resulted in births and abortions (2001-2013): A retrospective population-based study in a Canadian population.

We aimed to describe medication use in pregnancies that resulted in births and abortions, as well as use after a pregnancy-related visit to characterize the receipt of medication after knowledge of pregnancy. Abortions included both spontaneous and induced abortions. Rates of medication use among women with a pregnancy outcome (2001–2013) were described using the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. Use was determined as ≥ 1 prescription filled during pregnancies that resulted in births (livebirth/stillbirth) and abortions. Rates were calculated at any time during pregnancy and after a pregnancy-related visit. Rates were additionally characterized by risk in pregnancy using Briggs classification (2017). Of 174,848 birth pregnancies, overall 64.9% filled ≥ 1 prescription during pregnancy (a significant increase from 62.3% to 68.8% from 2001–2013, p<0.0001); 55.4% filled ≥ 1 prescription after a pregnancy-related visit. Of 71,967 abortions, 44.7% filled ≥ 1 prescription (a significant increase from 42.6% to 46.8% from 2001–2013, p<0.0001). Only 3.7% of birth pregnancies had at least one prescription for a contraindicated medication (according to Briggs classification), whereas 10.8% of abortions filled a prescription for a contraindicated medication. The most common drugs used in pregnancy were amoxicillin, doxylamine, codeine combinations, nitrofurantoin, cephalexin, salbutamol and ranitidine. Fewer women filled prescriptions for undesirable medications according to Briggs classification during pregnancy after a pregnancy-related visit.

The ‘who’ and the ‘what’ in international migration research: data-driven analysis of Scopus-indexed scientific literature

ABSTRACTThis paper offers a detailed, first-ever, in-depth, data-driven, review of debates pertaining to international migration (IM) as depicted by cross-disciplinary records collected in Scopus. Accordingly, the paper also makes a case for the value added of bibliometric analysis and new ways of its application. Specifically, to gain a thorough understanding of issues, names, and topics that have contributed to the IM debate since 1963, bibliometric analysis was conducted on 12.663 procured records. The findings suggest that regardless of the depth and breadth of the analysis, it is doomed to remain partial. That is, when confronted with academic work not available in Scopus, this study concludes that more work needs to be done to ensure, on the one hand, interoperability of research data repositories, and on the other hand, synergies among the until now divided research-communities research and publishing in the field of IM. Only in this way, it is argued, will it be possible to ensure transparency of research artefacts, identify issues and problems silenced and/or under-researched in the field, and finally enable more efficient dialogue between academia and decision-makers, including international organisations.

Annual trends in prevalence and incidence of autism spectrum disorders in Manitoba preschoolers and toddlers: 2004-2015.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are among the leading causes of disabilities in children. We examined the annual prevalence and incidence rate of ASD between 2004 and 2015 in children aged 1 to 5years residing in Manitoba. A population-based study was conducted using the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository. The study included children aged 1 to 5years residing in Manitoba between 2004 and 2015. Standard identification algorithm was used to identify ASD cases from hospital abstracts and medical claims. Annual prevalence and incidence rates were calculated for the overall population and then stratified according to sex, region, and socio-economic status (SES). Multivariable negative binomial regression models, adjusted for sex, region, and SES, were used to examine changes in prevalence and incidence over study years. Among children aged 1 to 5years, 1685 ASD cases were diagnosed between 2004 and 2015. The crude ASD prevalence increased from 0.46% in 2004 to 0.97% in 2015 (p = 0.002). The crude incidence rate increased from 0.16% in 2004 to 0.39% in 2015 (p = 0.002). The increase in ASD prevalence and incidence was observed in all subgroups based on sex, region, and SES. The adjusted negative binomial model showed an annual relative risk increase, since 2004, for both prevalence and incidence of 1.69 (95% CI 1.56-1.83) and 1.84 (95% CI 1.62-2.09), respectively. During the period from 2004 to 2015, both prevalence and incidence rates of diagnosed ASD in preschoolers and toddlers residing in Manitoba increased significantly.

Semantic lifting and reasoning on the personalised activity big data repository for healthcare research

Semantic lifting and reasoning on the personalised activity big data repository for healthcare research

Low-Profile Independently- and Concurrently-Tunable Quad-Band Antenna for Single Chain Sub-6GHz 5G New Radio Applications

This paper presents a quad-band frequency agile antenna, with independent and concurrent frequency tunability in each band, for a tunable, concurrent, quad-band single chain radio receiver for 5G New Radio (NR). More specifically, the antenna comprises of four planar slots etched in a ground plane and fed through a single microstrip feedline, without any impedance matching network. The structure is optimized to maximize isolation between the individual slots and their respective resonant frequencies. Furthermore, a novel high order harmonic suppression method is demonstrated, which controls the current distribution via creating a fictitious short circuit in the slot antenna–enabling the antenna to achieve a much wider tuning range. Numerical simulations are verified using experimental implementation and measurements, with good agreement observed. The four slots resonate around the 830 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 3.4 GHz frequency bands, which are independently tuned (using a varactor diode in each slot) to achieve tuning ranges of approximately 64%, 66%, 27% and 33%, respectively. More importantly, the contiguous four bands covers a total frequency tuning from 0.6 to 3.6 GHz i.e. a tuning range of approximately 143%. Finally, far-field measurements are performed and the antenna is evaluated in over-the-air testbed (quad-band radio receiver), which measures the Error Vector Magnitude performance for the individual channels. Good performance is observed, confirming acceptable isolation performance between the four bands. The data reported in this paper is available, from ORDA-The University of Sheffield Research Data Catalogue and Repository, at https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.11219000.v1 .

La gestión de datos de investigación en el horizonte de las bibliotecas universitarias y de investigación.

La sociedad TIC necesita, hace uso y proporciona de una enorme cantidad de datos; procesarlos, entenderlos y transformarlos en decisiones de valor es el reto del análisis de los llamados "big data", un término utilizado para referirse a la explosión de una ingente cantidad y diversidad de datos digitales de alta frecuencia, que se están convirtiendo en un elemento esencial para la competencia, y que según la mayoría de los expertos en el tema serán clave para el crecimiento de la productividad, la innovación y la posibilidad de generar el suficiente excedente para la sostenibilidad de la sociedad. La gestión de los datos de investigación se plantea como uno de los grandes retos que han de asumir durante los próximos años las bibliotecas científicas y de investigación. Ya la mitad de las universidades estadounidenses tienen un plan de trabajo sobre esta cuestión, todos los informes de tendencias están de acuerdo en que la Gestión de Datos de Investigación (RDM) será una de las cuestiones prioritarias y de futuro que deberán asumir las bibliotecas de investigación. En este artículo se hace un análisis del estado de la cuestión sobre la gestión de datos de investigación, normativa, repositorios de datos, prácticas y políticas que están desarrollando las bibliotecas en torno al tema.

Development of an Automated Tool for Assessing Response in Patients with Polycythemia Vera

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of hematologic malignancies characterized by the clonal proliferation of one or more hematopoietic cell lineages demonstrated by terminal myeloid cell expansion into the peripheral blood. The most commonly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome negative (Ph-) MPNs include essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV), and myelofibrosis (MF).Assessing various categories of response to a treatment is determined according to multiple factors, including laboratory values; transfusion dependence; degree of splenomegaly; mutational status and variant allelic frequency (VAF); cytogenetic abnormalities; and bone marrow morphological features, such as myeloblasts, fibrosis, and the volume ratio of hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow [1]. While many of these components exist in electronic health records (EHRs), they are documented with varying degrees of structure. Some terms are recorded as tabular values, whereas others are captured purely in free text (Table 1). However, nearly all clinical trials and reviews studying patients with MPNs rely on expert adjudication of response as determined by these data points.The current process for determining response involves manual review of the patient's EHR data, an arduous task requiring extensive human effort. To alleviate these efforts, the Richard T. Silver Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Center at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) worked in tandem with the Architecture for Research Computing in Health (ARCH) program to develop a method for assessing response in patients with MPNs. A research data repository (RDR) containing data from both outpatient and inpatient EHRs was designed to allow for computational assessment of response.Structured data elements, including laboratory values, mutational data, and VAF, were extracted from the EHR. A natural language processing (NLP) pipeline using the Leo framework was developed [2] to extract data on cellularity, reticulin fibrosis, and myeloblast count from bone marrow biopsy pathology reports (Figure 1). Other data points, including splenomegaly and symptom burden, continue to require interpretation and manual collection by trained research personnel, who enter these data points into REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), a WCM-provisioned secure web application for managing clinical databases. These manual data are then pivoted and loaded into a Microsoft SQL Server environment [3]. Data generated by the MPN RDR were frequently reviewed for quality control, which drove subsequent iterations designed to minimize any identified errors.After acceptable confidence levels had been achieved, the MPN RDR was queried to provide data that were used to contribute to response assessments [1] for a retrospective review studying PV patients. Fully automated response parameters included hematocrit, platelet, and white blood cell count values; cellularity; reticulin fibrosis; and JAK2V617F VAF. Partially automated response assessments included rates of phlebotomy. Manually collected response criteria included symptom burden, degree of palpable splenomegaly, and indications of hemorrhagic/thrombotic events. Extracted data were merged with manually collected data within clinically justified temporal windows and applied to PV response criteria. The process provided valuable insight on potential modifications to the extraction process.Future steps include extending these processes to criteria still dependent on manual collection. Efforts are currently under way to apply NLP to hepatosplenomegaly and cytogenetics reports. This process will also be used to assist in response assessments for the spectrum of other MPN subtypes. While the feasibility of a fully comprehensive computable approach to assessing response in MPNs may not be entirely feasible nor even advisable, it is rather the objective that clinical data collection, which has been historically onerous, become automated to the furthest extent possible so as to allow research personnel to focus on the extraction of data elements that do require manual adjudication. Adaption of a similar workflow may help other institutions expand their ability to assess response in patients with MPNs and, potentially, additional hematologic malignancies. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Palliative Care Consults to Nursing Home Residents: The Who, What, When, Where and Why

Most individuals faced with a life-limiting illness express a strong desire to die at home. In some cases, home is in a community, while for others it may be a long-term care institution like a nursing home (NH). A number of palliative care delivery models have been developed to enhance the quality of care provided to those dying at home, including a model whereby palliative care specialists are consulted. As the known effectiveness of these programs is limited, the purpose of the study was to compare and contrast between the NH and community settings: 1) rates of palliative care use and the sociodemographic profile of palliative care recipients; 2) the reasons recorded for palliative care consults; and 3) the timing of the palliative care request (e.g., proximity to death). Collectively, these results help to clarify the ways in which palliative care is used in different settings, and have value for guiding reform strategies. Personal-level anonymized data from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Palliative Care Consult database were linked to the administrative healthcare use records housed at the Population Health Research Data Repository, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (e.g., Chi squared testing, logistic regression models). A total of 4066 individuals had 9114 consults from 2007-2012. This comprises about 8% of community-dwelling individuals who died during the study period, versus about only 2% of all NH residents who died. Significant differences between NH residents and community-based consults were noted including reason for consult, demographic characteristics, Palliative Performance scores (NH = 29; Community = 35) and time between consult and death (NH= 16 days; Community = 26 days). While the consult service is reaching into the community, the short time frame between consult and death questions whether the broader goals of palliative care are being met.

1817. Benchmarking Outpatient Antimicrobial Use in Manitoba Through Population-Based Research

BackgroundIn Canada, there is limited knowledge about benchmarking and trends in provincial outpatient antimicrobial prescribing. We used de-identified population-level data (including all outpatient prescription dispensations) to describe and analyze temporal trends in antimicrobial prescribing and to determine what population level indicators best assess quality of antibiotic prescribing in outpatients.MethodsThis population-based study used data from the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository, a comprehensive provincial collection of administrative, registry, and other data about residents of Manitoba, including health, education, and social services, all linked by a unique identifier. The first of three project objectives focused on examining prescription utilization trends for antimicrobials in the overall population by drug subclass as prescriptions/1,000 individuals/day between 2011 and 2016. Crude and age- and sex-adjusted rates as well as relative rates were calculated using SAS V9.4.ResultsThe adjusted prescription rates by RHA relative to the RHA with the lowest rates (Southern RHA) in 2016 showed substantial variation across regions, with one region’s rate 1.48 times greater than Southern RHA (P < 0.0001). In 2016, there were 878, 416 antibiotic prescriptions overall in the province of Manitoba. Of these, 86.33% (758,295) were from physicians, 9.42% (82, 778) were from dentists, 3.94% (34,611) from nurse practitioners, 0.26% (2315) from pharmacists, and 0.01% (81) from midwives. In 2016, the proportion of outpatient visits that resulted in an antibiotic prescription by age group, were 18.2% (1–4 years old), 15.3% (5–9 years), 11.1% (10–14), 8.2% (15–64), 5.3% (65+ years).ConclusionIn Manitoba, there is substantial variability in the rate of antimicrobial prescribing across regions, despite adjustment for differing age and sex distribution. There is a considerable amount of antimicrobial prescribing by nonphysicians. Future phases of this deliverable will focus on patterns of service use of antimicrobials across Manitoba, including appropriateness. The goal would be to develop a province-wide framework for prescriber prescribing feedback reporting, to our knowledge, the first of its kind in Canada.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Facilitating and Improving Environmental Research Data Repository Interoperability

Environmental research data repositories provide much needed services for data preservation and data dissemination to diverse communities with domain specific or programmatic data needs and standards. Due to independent development these repositories serve their communities well, but were developed with different technologies, data models and using different ontologies. Hence, the effectiveness and efficiency of these services can be vastly improved if repositories work together adhering to a shared community platform that focuses on the implementation of agreed upon standards and best practices for curation and dissemination of data. Such a community platform drives forward the convergence of technologies and practices that will advance cross-domain interoperability. It will also facilitate contributions from investigators through standardized and streamlined workflows and provide increased visibility for the role of data managers and the curation services provided by data repositories, beyond preservation infrastructure. Ten specific suggestions for such standardizations are outlined without any suggestions for priority or technical implementation. Although the recommendations are for repositories to implement, they have been chosen specifically with the data provider/data curator and synthesis scientist in mind.