Dementia Research and Care
Can Big Data Help?
OECD countries are developing strategies to improve the quality of life of those affected
by dementia and to support long-term efforts for a disease-modifying therapy or cure.
The OECD jointly hosted an international workshop in Toronto with the Ontario Brain
Institute (OBI) and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME),
University of Toronto on 14-15 September 2014. The aim of the workshop was to advance
international discussion of the opportunities and challenges, as well as successful
strategies, for sharing and linking the massive amounts of population-based health
and health care data that are routinely collected (broad data) with detailed clinical
and biological data (deep data) to create an international resource for research,
planning, policy development, and performance improvement. The workshop brought together
leading researchers and academics, industry and non-government experts to provide
new insights into the opportunities and challenges in making “broad and deep” data
a reality – from funding to data standards, to data sharing, to new analytics, to
protecting privacy, and to engaging with stakeholders and the public. Government leadership
and public-private partnership will be needed to create and sustain big data resources,
including financing for data infrastructure and incentives for data sharing.
Published on February 03, 2015