Unlocking data to inform public health policy and practice: decision-maker perspectives on the use of cross-sectoral data as part of a whole-systems approach

Secondary data from non-health sources is vital to understanding how initiatives in policy areas such as education, housing, or social care affect population health and health inequalities.

At present, the potential of secondary data is not being fully realised due to challenges in governance, data access, and quality. Although these have been extensively documented in relation to healthcare data, there has been less attention to the challenges of combining data from health and other sectors to inform healthy public policy. In particular, we know little about the perspectives of people who might use such cross-sectoral secondary data in their work as decision-makers in government, NHS public health teams, and third sector organisations.

Scotland’s commitment to a ‘whole-systems’ approach to public health requires partnership working across sectors and new forms of data which are dynamic, can be extensively linked, and originate from real-world rather than experimental settings. Cross-sectoral administrative data is well placed to meet this need.

We propose to work collaboratively with decision-makers with diverse roles in healthy public policy to identify practical ways that secondary data can be more effectively used across sectors to support a whole-systems approach to public health, using case studies of existing linkage projects. We will ask:

RQ1. What is the current and potential future role of cross-sectoral secondary data in decision-making in local and devolved government, NHS, and third sector, in the context of a whole-systems approach to public health?

RQ2. What transferable lessons can be learnt from recent projects using cross-sectoral administrative data for public health research?

RQ3. What are the actions required to develop and maintain secondary data systems capable of supporting a whole-systems approach to healthy public policy at the local and national levels?

Scotland offers a unique opportunity to explore these questions in the context of increasing collaboration between public health agencies (such as Public Health Scotland) and local authorities, and an explicit commitment to a systems approach to public health. We will also draw on Scotland’s world-leading record in health data research and growing expertise in cross-sectoral linkage.

We will address these questions through workshops with decision-makers from local and national government, community planning partnerships, NHS public health teams, and the third sector, as well as data providers, analysts, governance panels, and public representatives. The workshops will draw on (a) a scoping review on models of evidence use for public health practice and policy and known barriers/facilitators to the use of administrative data in this context and (b) three case studies of existing cross-sectoral linkage projects, covering the policy areas of social care; care-experienced children and young people; and homelessness, criminal justice, and substance use.

The project will be guided by an advisory group including Public Health Scotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Improvement Service, the West of Scotland Safe Haven, NHS public health teams, and public representatives. The group will support recruitment of workshop participants to ensure representation across all relevant sectors; guide the development of workshop materials; and facilitate dissemination of results to practice and policy audiences.