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Links to Data Sources
 BC Ambulance Service
The British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS) provides public ambulance service in BC under the authority of the Emergency Health Services Commission of the provincial Ministry of Health Services.
Collected data are used for internal requirements such as resource allocation, monitoring of response times, performance measurements, report generation and program planning.
Data analysis is both qualitative and quantitative and includes analysis of the purpose of the call, the ambulance response time, the type of patient care provided by paramedics, and the result of the call. BCAS allows access to its raw data with a request for access approved by the BC Ministry of Health.
Those requesting access must explain what data will be used for and how they will be managed.
Service charges for data requests are applied on a cost recovery basis.
BCAS's database has limited injury information.
Contact:
Randy Slemko
Corporate Information Analyst
BC Ambulance Service Emergency Health Services Commission
712 Yates St , 5th Floor
Station Provincial Government.
P. O. Box 9600, Victoria, BC V8W 9P1
Tel: 250-953-3208, Fax: 250-953-3119, E-mail: randy.slemko@gems3.gov.bc.ca, URL: http://www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/bcas/index.html
BC Drug & Poison Information Centre
This database collects data on injuries due to poisonings. This data is only for poisoning incidences that the BC Drug and Poison Information Centre are contacted about (the calls they receive).
The main field of all the elements is the Standard Substance (Against) Pharmaceutical - they capture gender of patient, location, age and the substance that caused the poison. The template of the database is from the TESS database of the US Drug and Poison Centre in Washington - the BC database is an expanded version of the US database.
Contact:
Derrick Daws
Manager,
St. Paul's Hospital
1081 Burrard St.
Vancouver BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-682-2344 ext. 62126, Fax: 604-806-8262, E-mail: daws@dpic.bc.ca, URL: none
BC Injury Research & Prevention Unit
The BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU) is a part of a collaboration effort to make the province a safer place by coordinating efforts, research and prevention to significantly reduce injuries and their consequences.
BCIRPU is working to 1) expand injury surveillance beyond hospitalization and mortality data; 2) provide applied research aimed at developing community based strategies; 3) support community initiatives aimed at preventing injuries and 4) coordinate provincial injury prevention efforts and disseminate findings via newsletters, conferences and community toolkits.
BCIRPU collects hospitalization data from the BC Ministry of Health’s data warehouse. Mortality data are received annually from the BC Vital Statistics Agency. BCIRPU collects and manages emergency department data from 10 hospital emergency departments in three health regions across BC. The data entered in the BCIRPU consists of injury event classification; region of residence; place of injury occurrence; nature of injury; causes of injury; anatomical location; multiple injuries; index of injury severity score and pre-event circumstances.
The highest aggregation is at the province level with data more often presented at local health levels. BCIRPU does not have the ability to identify First Nations/North American Indian, Inuit or Metis populations.
Access to this data is provided to the BC Ministry of Health. The database is not linked with external databases. Requests for raw data have not been granted outside of the organization. Data are available for outside requests, such as requests from the media, in a report format that is available electronically or in hard copy.
A charge is applied for shipping/handling costs in mailing a report.
Contact:
Ian Pike
Director
BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit
Centre for Community Health and Health Evaluation Branch
L408-4480 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4
Tel: 604-875-3425, Fax: 604-875-3569, E-mail: bcinjury1@cw.bc.ca, URL: www.injuryresearch.bc.ca
BC Ministry of Health
The BC Ministry of Health has compiled the Health Data Warehouse (HDW) which provides online access to several community-level population health indicators and data sets. (E.g. you can query the HDW to find out the number of hospitalizations of people aged 65+ due to hip fractures and how it is changing over time). This information is intended to support local and provincial health authorities in monitoring progress in improving and maintaining the health of the population. The HDW answers questions about the overall health of the population, the socio-economic and environmental factors that influence health, and the quality of health services received.
-Preventive Health Programs (Injury Prevention)
-Health Files – facts about injury rates, risks, prevention tips, other links
-Child Care – preventing injuries in a child care setting
-Publications – government reports/publications
-Provincial Health Officer Annual Report
-Provincial Electoral District Profile
Health Care Providers Data
Karlic Ho
Information and Analysis
www.gov.bc.ca/hlth/
BC Recreation and Parks Association
The British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to building and sustaining active healthy lifestyles and communities in BC. As a strong provincial voice for the parks, recreation and culture sector, we inspire and support community leaders and practitioners to build and sustain healthy communities through advocacy, communication and education with a diverse network of partners. The recreation, parks and culture sector is an essential partner for building healthy individuals and communities, as well as fostering economic and environmental sustainability.
-Publications, e.g. BC Recreation and Sports Guide (hardcopy publication)
-Other resources ie., BCRPA Arena Survey, Aquatic Facility Survey
Contact:
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
BC Recreation and Parks Association
30-10551 Shellbridge Way
Richmond BC V6X 2W
Tel: 604-273-8055, Fax: 604-273-8059, E-Mail: kristiina@bcrpa.bc.ca, URL: www.bcrpa.bc.ca
BC Trauma Registry
The BC Trauma Registry collects and maintains data on all trauma patients admitted to any of the nine trauma receiving facilities in BC. The primary purpose is to improve and maintain the quality of patient care. Other purposes of this data are epidemiology research; planning; resource allocation for the betterment of patient care; strategic planning; injury surveillance and contributing to injury prevention programs.
BC Trauma Registry analyzes the health record data and inputs the information into their system using Collector software. The data consists of injury event classification; region of residence; unique patient identifiers, place of injury occurrence, nature and causes of injury; anatomical location of injury; indices of injury severity scores and pre-event circumstances.
Access to raw data is provided to the National Trauma Registry. Access to data is available upon request and must meet certain conditions. Identifiable patient information will not be released unless Freedom of Information and Privacy guidelines are met via data access and release applications and a signed agreement. If a request involves research it is sent to the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) Research Committee and UBC Ethics Committee. The request may also need to be approved by the Freedom of Information and Privacy Director at VGH. Once approved, the BC Trauma Registry Manager releases the data with stipulations of time limitations and other standard restrictions.
Service charges for data or information requests are applied to organizations external to VGH or the trauma facilities. The charges are determined by the amount of time required to complete the request.
Contact:
Sharon Kasic
Manager
BC Trauma Registry
Vancouver General Hospital,
Trauma Services
855 West 12th Ave
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
Tel: 604-875-4748, Fax: 604-875-5348, E-mail: skasic@vanhosp.bc.ca, URL: none
BC Vital Statistics Agency, Mortality Database
The BC Vital Statistics Agency registers vital events occurring in BC and provides a spectrum of high quality vital statistics-related products and services to meet a variety of public needs. The Agency registers births, deaths, marriages and stillbirths in BC. The Agency supports injury surveillance through its collection of death-related data, including deaths due to injury and the dissemination of fatal injury information.
Within 48 hours of a death, information is sent to BC Vital Statistics Agency by funeral directors, informants to the funeral directors, attending physicians and/or the coroner. The data entered into the mortality database consists of injury event classifications; region of residence; unique identifiers; place of injury occurrence; nature and cause of injury; anatomical location; pre-event circumstances, manner of death and toxicology reports.
The highest aggregation of this data is at the provincial level. The BC Vital Statistics Agency can identify registered first nations/North American Indian populations (band and band number) from volunteered information from the deceased’s informant or next of kin, BC provincial health insurance – Medical Service Plan information and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada information. These populations tend to be underreported as only Aboriginals are counted.
The database has linked on occasion to other external databases such as hospital programs, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch files and other vital statistics agencies. Requests for raw data may be granted with and approved confidentiality agreement. Authorized personnel can provide technical information on the list of data elements, coding categories/options, data dictionary, file layout, and technical environment.
Contact:
Rosemary Armour
Medical Advisor
BC Vital Statistics Agency
P.O. Box 9657 Station Provincial Government
Victoria, BC V8W 9P3
Tel: 250-952-2558 or 800-663-8328, Fax: 250-952-2594, E-mail: rosemary.armour@gems4.gov.bc.ca, URL: http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca/
Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, PHAC
The Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) is an injury surveillance system based on data gathered from 15 emergency departments. CHIRPP’s participating hospitals use data to do research and in-depth analysis on specific areas of injury.
Data are used for the planning and execution of intervention and for program evaluation by the contributing CHIRPP centers. The data that is entered into the CHIRPP database consists of CHIRPP injury classification; region of residence; place of injury occurrence, nature and causes of injury; anatomical locations; index of injury severity and pre-event circumstances leading to the injury.
The highest aggregation of this data is at the national level, although data are not nationally representative as 10 pediatric and 5 general hospitals participate in the program.
Access to CHIRPP data can be made available to researchers whose project meet guidelines with the Injury Section of the Health Surveillance and Epidemiology Division of Health Canada. The database is not linked with external databases. Service charges are not applied to data or information requests.
Contact:
Mhairi Nolan
CHIRRP Program Coordinator
BC Children and Women’s Hospital
BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit
L408-4480 Oak St
Vancouver BC V6H 3V4
Tel: 604-875-3044, Fax: 604-875-3569, E-mail: mnolan@cw.bc.ca, URL: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/injury-bles/chirpp/injrep-rapbles/index.html
Canadian Red Cross
The Canadian Red Cross offers Water Safety Services a program that collects injury data to develop campaigns on swimming safety and drowning prevention. The Canadian Red Cross has comprehensive programs to educate and train Canadians in water safety. The programs of Water Safety Services include swimming and water safety lessons for infants, toddlers, children, teens and adults; leadership training program for Instructors and Instructor Trainers; training materials for Pleasure Craft Competency cards; and promotional safety campaigns targeted at high risk populations.
Contact:
British Columbia
Coastal Office
909 Fairfield Rd.
Victoria, BC
V8V 3A3
Phone: (250) 382-2043, Fax: (250) 382-3420, Toll Free: 1-800-661-9055E-mail: wz-contactcentre@redcross.ca, URL: http://www.redcross.ca/english/watersafety/index.html
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
The injury prevention objectives of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) are to manage traffic; manage injuries; anticipate driver behaviour and employ emerging technologies. Programs include Road Safety, Geared 2 Youth and Auto Crime and Fraud Prevention.
The data warehouse consists of elements extracted from Claims Customer (CCUS) and their Medical Services Plan (MSP) Invoice databases. Their Claims Customer data includes the ICBC specific injury coding scheme; including source of information, body region, condition, and severity and injury results. MSP Invoice data includes transaction level “Fee for Service” data for all doctors, chiropractors, physiotherapists, and massage treatment for all ICBC customers. CCUS data includes demographic information such as age, gender and marital status.They also record the person’s ‘role’ in the crash (i.e. pedestrian, cyclist, driver and passenger).
They are able to link their injured customers to other claims data such as the date, time and place of the accident, type of vehicle they were in, age of the driver and other data they use to evaluate their Road Safety interventions. From the payment details, they can tell if they paid for an ambulance for the injured person. They also know if the person is/was ‘represented’ which is an important factor in the insurance industry.
Contact:
Decision Support & Information Access
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
151 West Esplanade
Vancouver BC V7M 3H9
Tel: 604-661-2800, URL: http://www.icbc.com
Library Branches
Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Library Services Branch
The Public Library Services Branch exists to provide leadership and support to public library authorities and to sustain the vital role of public library services for all British Columbians. Responsibility for management and control of our public libraries rests with 70 locally appointed library boards, which are accountable under the BC Library Act for more than $130 million in annual spending.
-Types and locations of library branches
Contact:
URL: http://www.bcpl.gov.bc.ca/public/contacts.php
Municipal Statistics
Ministry of Municipal Affairs publication: “Municipal Statistics, Including Regional Districts”
-Distance and types of roads
-Area of parks, playgrounds
-Water supply
-Sewer services
Contact:
Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services
PO Box 9490, Station Provincial Government
Victoria BC V8W 9N7
URL: http://www.cserv.gov.bc.ca/wss/
Office of the Chief Coroner, British Columbia
The Office of the Chief Coroner reports on all sudden, unexpected and unexplained deaths in the province. Their primary purpose of data collection is to fulfill the Coroner’s Act and to provide a public safety service by helping to determine the circumstances surrounding death to prevent similar deaths in the future.
Coroners compile a preliminary report based on the findings at the scene of death. Information is entered into the database within two days of the discovery of the body. Coroners investigate further using police reports or hospital records to make a judgement on the cause of death. Information in this database consists of classification of injury; region of residence; place of injury/death occurrence, nature and causes of death; anatomical location and use of alcohol or drugs.
The highest aggregation of this data is at the provincial level. The BC Coroners’ Case Management System can identify Aboriginal populations, albeit inconsistently as the information gathered from the registration of death.
The Coroners’ regional office databases are linked through a common server. Requests for raw data detailing why and how the data will be used are granted with a signed research agreement. The application form is available from the Chief Coroner’s Office. With this agreement, and approval from the regional RCMP office for access to the information coroners have taken from police files, manual searches can be performed on the coroners’ files. Data are available in any format extractable from the BC Coroner’s Case Management System’s Oracle database. Authorized personnel can provide technical information on the lists of data elements, coding, categories/options, data dictionary; file layout, data model and technical environment.
Contact:
Coroner Case Management
Office of the Chief Coroner
4270 Kingsway St, Suite 2035
Burnaby BC V5H 4N2
Tel: 604-660-7745, Fax: 604-660-7766, E-mail: tej.sidhu@gems7.gov.bc.ca
Office of Children and Youth
The Office of Children and Youth works towards injury surveillance with the aim of helping prevention initiatives. It does this by investigating and collecting data on all child fatalities and critical injuries of children in government care; conducting random reviews of care plans; and investigating complaints against the Ministry of Children and Family Development that relate to children.
Data entered in the Office of Children and Youth database consists of child's complete name and birth date; the investigator's notes; related correspondence/e-mail notes; type of injurious incident; region of residence; whether the child was in government care within the 12 months prior to the injury or death; legal status of the child (continuous custody, independent living).
The highest aggregation of these data is at the provincial level. The Office of Children and Youth is able to identify aboriginal populations based on self-reporting, the police, parents and/or vital statistics.
External requests for raw data are not granted. The Office of Children and Youth is exempt from the right to Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. The database is not linked with external databases. Authorized personnel can provide technical information on the list of data elements, coding categories/options, data dictionary, file layout, and technical environment.
Service charges are not applied to data or information requests. Please note: The Office of Children and Youth is recognized as the former BC Children's Commission. The data that is held is from 1997-2002. The Office of the Coroner holds the current death investigation data for children.
Contact:
Wayne Mitic
P.O. Box 9207, Station Provincial Government
Victoria, BC V8W 9J1
Tel: 250-387-0084, Fax: 250-356-0837, E-mail: wayne.mitic@gems5.gov.bc.ca, URL: http://www.gov.bc.ca/officeforchildrenandyouth/
Transport Canada, Traffic Accident Information Database
The Traffic Accident Information Database is apart of an initiative to reduce the number of deaths; injuries; damage to property and the environment; health impairment and energy consumption resulting from the use of motor vehicles in Canada. This data source supports the regulatory activity of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act and to provide national figures of all reported traffic collisions in the country.
Transport Canada receives provincial police reports of traffic accidents. Police officers complete reports at the scene or at the self-reporting police centers. The reporting forms are not uniform and some jurisdictions do not supply all the information regarding the location of damage on the vehicle. This database consists of information regarding the place of injury occurrence; nature of injury and circumstances surrounding injury such as road, light and weather conditions, speed limit, driver action and vehicle maneuver and blood alcohol levels.
Requests for raw data have been granted with approval from the jurisdictions, with the exception of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and its consultants who have access without requiring the individual jurisdiction's approval. The database is not linked with external databases. Authorized personnel can provide technical information on the list of data elements, data dictionary and technical environment.
Contact:
Bill McCauley
Chief, Evaluation and Data Systems Division
Transport Canada
Tower C, Place de Ville 330 Sparks Street, 8th floor
Ottawa ON K1A 0N5
Tel: 613-998-1941, Fax: 613-954-4731, E-mail: mccaulb@tc.gc.ca, URL: http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety
Worker's Compensation Board
The Worker's Compensation Board data warehouse contains a variety of information on compensation claims including Employer Connect and Medi Connect.
The data warehouse consists of all claims and their related data from 1989 forward. Employer Connect contains information from 1998 forward for on information the accident, accident causes and contributing factors, worker, worker injuries, injury codes, worker's job (information from the Form 7). Medi Connect contains information from 1999 forward on data about a medical visit event associated with an injured worker being treated by a health care practitioner. This database includes information about the accident, the injured worker, the worker's injuries, injury codes, and the treatment (information from the Form 8 and 11).
Contact:
Kevin Thipthorpe
Statistics Services
Worker's Compensation Board of British Columbia
P.O. Box 5350 Vancouver BC V6B 5L5
Tel: 604-276-3130, Fax: 604-276-3298, URL: http://www.worksafebc.com
Other Helpful Sources of Data
BC Chamber of Commerce
Elections BC
Liquor Distribution
British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch, Annual Report, Ministry of Attorney General (hardcopy publication) URL: http://www.gov.bc.ca/ag
Vancouver Public Library, Social Sciences Research Department |