1970's

In the early 1970s the predecessor to the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research—UBC’s Division of Health Services Research and Development—began to maintain and provide access to a rich variety of health-related data, by agreement with the BC Ministry of Health Services and other bodies.

1988

In 1988, a Linked Health Data Project was launched by an informal cluster of researchers from UBC, the BC Ministry of Health, and the BC Cancer Agency. What unified the group was a keen interest in the research and planning potential of databases that could link individuals’ interactions with the health care system over time. This project led to an understanding of the efficiencies of creating a single database.

The BC Linked Health Database (BCLHD) was designed to capture the power of linkable, longitudinal data, and avoid the inefficiencies associated with project-by-project data linkage. The BCLHD initially brought together core data on health care services utilization and vital events for the province's residents from 1985 onwards. Over next few years, the BCLHD expanded to include data on other factors relevant to applied heath services and population health research, including data files from the BC Cancer Agency and WorkSafeBC.

1996

Research use of the BCLHD began in 1996 after agreement with the BC Ministry of Health and the BC Privacy Commissioner to an access policy that governed the use of the data.

2005 - 2008

In 2005, CHSPR won a grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to improve our physical premises housing the BCLHD and to further expand the breadth of available research data. Building on this success, in 2008, a consortium of data partners received funding from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research to create a multi-university partnership that governs what is now Population Data BC. In 2009 the BCLHD was transitioned to Population Data BC, and CHSPR’s role shifted away from data management.

Today

Today, CHSPR serves as a major partner in Population Data BC by providing expertise and leadership in health care data use. CHSPR continues to conduct population-based, data driven research that informs policy and improves health care for all Canadians. This research draws upon the rich data resources available through Population Data BC and provides insight for strengthening data use.