Barriers evident in global public health data sharing

Multiple barriers inhibit advances in global public health data sharing, according to a study published in BMC Public Health.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, University Health Network & University of Toronto, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, INDEPTH Network and the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, among others, conducted a systematic literature review of potential barriers to public health data sharing. Documents that described obstacles to sharing routinely collected public health data were eligible for inclusion and reviewed independently by a team of experts.

The study identified 20 potential barriers, which were classified in six categories: technical; motivational; economic; political; legal; and ethical. The first three categories are rooted in health information systems challenges for which structural solutions have yet to be found, and the last three have solutions that lie in international consensus on policies and tools for data sharing, according to the study.

“The simultaneous effect of multiple interacting barriers ranging from technical to intangible issues has greatly complicated advances in public health data sharing,” wrote the authors. “A systematic framework of barriers to data sharing in public health will be essential to accelerate the use of valuable information for the global good.”