LIST OF PANELS

Increasingly, policymakers, researchers, and planners are recognizing the interconnectedness of social needs at the population level. Accordingly, there is increasing demand for policies that require input from multiple government as well as public sectors. This panel will explore the potential of integrating data and evidence produced in the academic domain and government sectors to inform the policy outcomes of populations at risk of inequities such as children, women, immigrants/refugees, and indigenous groups.  Linked administrative data can provide insight into the patterns of government use across sectors; however, these data do not address root causes.  Evidence from academic research can help tease out root causes.  Together, the two sources of data can inform and support policy changes. The following examples illustrate the potential

In one Canadian province, data from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Children’s Services were linked to inform the mental health service use patterns of children in care. The policy reform (and funding) resulting from these findings allowed children and youth in care to access mental health services within weeks of being assessed as opposed to months and years. The value of integrating data at the government service level is access to population data. However, the details of the root causes leading to mental health service use among this population is less well understood.  This is where academic research on use of mental health services and root causes could enhance analysis and decision making. 

In the Province of Ontario, the McMaster Health Forum (2016) held public citizen meetings with a view to exploring the integration of person-level data across sectors and reviewed examples of data integration from several countries.  It was found that an integrated approach to analysis of data can produce tangible benefits for populations that are often termed “vulnerable” or “high priority” but an overarching policy framework is essential to ensure successful data integration is sustainable over time. 

This panel seeks papers that both theoretically and empirically examine, compare, and critically interrogate approaches to data integration. Submissions that are in the process of data and evidence integration or have considered the value of doing so are invited.  We are interested in papers that address the following questions:  What is the impact of the intersection of academic and government administrative data and evidence on policy for populations at risk for inequities?  What is the value of co-creation of knowledge from different ways of knowing in the development of policies, for example Indigenous and Western knowledge?  What are the best approaches for integrating data from various sources across sectors?  Are there frameworks that would enhance sustainability of these processes?