Using primary care databases for addiction research: An introduction and overview of strengths and weaknesses

Daniel Kotz; Amy O'Donnell; Sterling McPherson; Kyla H Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100407

Using primary care databases for addiction research: An introduction and overview of strengths and weaknesses

Daniel Kotz^*, Amy O'Donnell, Sterling McPherson, Kyla H Thomas

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

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Abstract

Primary care databases extract and combine routine data from the electronic patient records of various participating practices on a regular basis. These databases can be used for innovative and relevant addiction research, but such use requires a thorough understanding of how data were originally collected and how they need to be processed and statistically analysed to produce sound scientific evidence. The aims of this paper are therefore to (1) make a case for why primary care databases should be considered more frequently for addiction research; (2) provide an overview of how primary care databases are constructed; (3) highlight important methodological and statistical strengths and weaknesses of using primary care databases for research; and (4) give practical advice about how a researcher can get access to databases. Three major primary care databases from the UK serve as examples: Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), The Health Improvement Network (THIN), and QResearch.

Original language	English
Article number	100407
Number of pages	8
Journal	Addictive behaviors reports
Volume	15
Early online date	13 Jan 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100407
Publication status	Published - 22 Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Sterling McPherson’s work on this manuscript was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, USA ( UG1 DA013714 ). Kyla Thomas is currently funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) UK postdoctoral fellowship (grant reference: PDF‐2017‐10‐068 ). Amy O'Donnell is funded by a NIHR Advanced Fellowship (grant reference: NIHR300616 ). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

Keywords

Addiction research
Primary care database
Retrospective cohort studies

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abstract = "Primary care databases extract and combine routine data from the electronic patient records of various participating practices on a regular basis. These databases can be used for innovative and relevant addiction research, but such use requires a thorough understanding of how data were originally collected and how they need to be processed and statistically analysed to produce sound scientific evidence. The aims of this paper are therefore to (1) make a case for why primary care databases should be considered more frequently for addiction research; (2) provide an overview of how primary care databases are constructed; (3) highlight important methodological and statistical strengths and weaknesses of using primary care databases for research; and (4) give practical advice about how a researcher can get access to databases. Three major primary care databases from the UK serve as examples: Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), The Health Improvement Network (THIN), and QResearch.",

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N1 - Funding Information: Sterling McPherson’s work on this manuscript was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, USA ( UG1 DA013714 ). Kyla Thomas is currently funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) UK postdoctoral fellowship (grant reference: PDF‐2017‐10‐068 ). Amy O'Donnell is funded by a NIHR Advanced Fellowship (grant reference: NIHR300616 ). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors

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AB - Primary care databases extract and combine routine data from the electronic patient records of various participating practices on a regular basis. These databases can be used for innovative and relevant addiction research, but such use requires a thorough understanding of how data were originally collected and how they need to be processed and statistically analysed to produce sound scientific evidence. The aims of this paper are therefore to (1) make a case for why primary care databases should be considered more frequently for addiction research; (2) provide an overview of how primary care databases are constructed; (3) highlight important methodological and statistical strengths and weaknesses of using primary care databases for research; and (4) give practical advice about how a researcher can get access to databases. Three major primary care databases from the UK serve as examples: Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), The Health Improvement Network (THIN), and QResearch.

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Using primary care databases for addiction research: An introduction and overview of strengths and weaknesses

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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