Canadians' opinions towards COVID-19 data-sharing: a national cross-sectional survey
<p><strong>Objectives </p></strong> COVID-19 research has significantly contributed to pandemic response and the enhancement of public health capacity. COVID-19 data collected by provincial/territorial health authorities in Canada are valuable for research advancement yet not...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2023
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| _version_ | 1824458681383649280 |
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| author | Savić Kallesøe, SA Rabbani, T Gill, EE Brinkman, F Griffiths, EJ Zawati, M Liu, H Palmour, N Joly, Y Hsiao, WWL |
| author_facet | Savić Kallesøe, SA Rabbani, T Gill, EE Brinkman, F Griffiths, EJ Zawati, M Liu, H Palmour, N Joly, Y Hsiao, WWL |
| author_sort | Savić Kallesøe, SA |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p><strong>Objectives </p></strong> COVID-19 research has significantly contributed to pandemic response and the enhancement of public health capacity. COVID-19 data collected by provincial/territorial health authorities in Canada are valuable for research advancement yet not readily available to the public, including researchers. To inform developments in public health data-sharing in Canada, we explored Canadians’ opinions of public health authorities sharing deidentified individual-level COVID-19 data publicly.
<p><strong>
Design/setting/interventions/outcomes </p></strong> A national cross-sectional survey was administered in Canada in March 2022, assessing Canadians’ opinions on publicly sharing COVID-19 datatypes. Market research firm Léger was employed for recruitment and data collection.
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Participants </p></strong> Anyone greater than or equal to 18 years and currently living in Canada.
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Results </p></strong> 4981 participants completed the survey with a 92.3% response rate. 79.7% were supportive of provincial/territorial authorities publicly sharing deidentified COVID-19 data, while 20.3% were hesitant/averse/unsure. Datatypes most supported for being shared publicly were symptoms (83.0% in support), geographical region (82.6%) and COVID-19 vaccination status (81.7%). Datatypes with the most aversion were employment sector (27.4% averse), postal area (26.7%) and international travel history (19.7%). Generally supportive Canadians were characterised as being ≥50 years, with higher education, and being vaccinated against COVID-19 at least once. Vaccination status was the most influential predictor of data-sharing opinion, with respondents who were ever vaccinated being 4.20 times more likely (95% CI 3.21 to 5.48, p=0.000) to be generally supportive of data-sharing than those unvaccinated.
<p><strong>
Conclusions </p></strong> These findings suggest that the Canadian public is generally favourable to deidentified data-sharing. Identifying factors that are likely to improve attitudes towards data-sharing are useful to stakeholders involved in data-sharing initiatives, such as public health agencies, in informing the development of public health communication and data-sharing policies. As Canada progresses through the COVID-19 pandemic, and with limited testing and reporting of COVID-19 data, it is essential to improve deidentified data-sharing given the public’s general support for these efforts. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:29:45Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:514fd4cf-7148-4e43-bba2-cf2605985f17 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:29:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:514fd4cf-7148-4e43-bba2-cf2605985f172024-12-17T13:08:43ZCanadians' opinions towards COVID-19 data-sharing: a national cross-sectional surveyJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:514fd4cf-7148-4e43-bba2-cf2605985f17EnglishSymplectic ElementsBMJ Publishing Group2023Savić Kallesøe, SARabbani, TGill, EEBrinkman, FGriffiths, EJZawati, MLiu, HPalmour, NJoly, YHsiao, WWL<p><strong>Objectives </p></strong> COVID-19 research has significantly contributed to pandemic response and the enhancement of public health capacity. COVID-19 data collected by provincial/territorial health authorities in Canada are valuable for research advancement yet not readily available to the public, including researchers. To inform developments in public health data-sharing in Canada, we explored Canadians’ opinions of public health authorities sharing deidentified individual-level COVID-19 data publicly. <p><strong> Design/setting/interventions/outcomes </p></strong> A national cross-sectional survey was administered in Canada in March 2022, assessing Canadians’ opinions on publicly sharing COVID-19 datatypes. Market research firm Léger was employed for recruitment and data collection. <p><strong> Participants </p></strong> Anyone greater than or equal to 18 years and currently living in Canada. <p><strong> Results </p></strong> 4981 participants completed the survey with a 92.3% response rate. 79.7% were supportive of provincial/territorial authorities publicly sharing deidentified COVID-19 data, while 20.3% were hesitant/averse/unsure. Datatypes most supported for being shared publicly were symptoms (83.0% in support), geographical region (82.6%) and COVID-19 vaccination status (81.7%). Datatypes with the most aversion were employment sector (27.4% averse), postal area (26.7%) and international travel history (19.7%). Generally supportive Canadians were characterised as being ≥50 years, with higher education, and being vaccinated against COVID-19 at least once. Vaccination status was the most influential predictor of data-sharing opinion, with respondents who were ever vaccinated being 4.20 times more likely (95% CI 3.21 to 5.48, p=0.000) to be generally supportive of data-sharing than those unvaccinated. <p><strong> Conclusions </p></strong> These findings suggest that the Canadian public is generally favourable to deidentified data-sharing. Identifying factors that are likely to improve attitudes towards data-sharing are useful to stakeholders involved in data-sharing initiatives, such as public health agencies, in informing the development of public health communication and data-sharing policies. As Canada progresses through the COVID-19 pandemic, and with limited testing and reporting of COVID-19 data, it is essential to improve deidentified data-sharing given the public’s general support for these efforts. |
| spellingShingle | Savić Kallesøe, SA Rabbani, T Gill, EE Brinkman, F Griffiths, EJ Zawati, M Liu, H Palmour, N Joly, Y Hsiao, WWL Canadians' opinions towards COVID-19 data-sharing: a national cross-sectional survey |
| title | Canadians' opinions towards COVID-19 data-sharing: a national cross-sectional survey |
| title_full | Canadians' opinions towards COVID-19 data-sharing: a national cross-sectional survey |
| title_fullStr | Canadians' opinions towards COVID-19 data-sharing: a national cross-sectional survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Canadians' opinions towards COVID-19 data-sharing: a national cross-sectional survey |
| title_short | Canadians' opinions towards COVID-19 data-sharing: a national cross-sectional survey |
| title_sort | canadians opinions towards covid 19 data sharing a national cross sectional survey |
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