14  Process to access ECHILD

Substantive employees, or PhD students with a substantive contract, within UK universities or other research organisation can apply to access ECHILD using the following process:

1. Obtain Full Accredited Researcher status.
2. Familiarise yourself with the ECHILD User Guide and Data Catalogue.
3. Ensure that your institution has Assured Organisational Connectivity certified by the ONS Secure Research Service, or alternatively, check you can access the SafePod Network.
4. Contact the ECHILD team at UCL to discuss feasibility: [email protected]
5. We recommend completing the UKSA Ethics self-assessment, but it is not compulsory.
6. Complete a project Application Form and a Data Request Form, and submit to the ECHILD team.
   Note: We aim to provide feedback within 2 weeks of receiving a completed application form.
7. Once your application has been approved by UCL, you will submit your application to the ONS PASS system for project accreditation.
   Note: applications take an average of 10 weeks to be processed by ONS.
8. Finally, your organisation will need to sign a non-negotiable Data Access Agreement (sublicense) with UCL.

Administrative Data Research UK (2023) “ECHILD: Linking children’s health and education data for england.” Available at: https://www.adruk.org/our-work/browse-all-projects/echild-linking-childrens-health-and-education-data-for-england-142/.

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Blackburn, R. et al. (2022) “COVID-19-related school closures and patterns of hospital admissions with stress-related presentations in secondary school-aged adolescents: Weekly time series,” Br J Psychiatr, 221(5), pp. 655–657.

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CSCDUG (2023) “The children’s social care data user group (CSCDUG).” Available at: https://cscdug.co.uk/.

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Department for Education (2024c) “Children looked after return: Guide to submitting data.” Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/children-looked-after-return-guide-to-submitting-data.

Department for Education (2024d) “Complete the school census.” Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census.

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Department for Education (2024f) “Early years census.” Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-early-years-census.

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Department for Education (2024h) “Statistics: Children in need and child protection.” Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need.

Department for Education (2024i) “Statistics: Looked-after children.” Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.

ECHILD (2023) “The ECHILD project.” Available at: https://www.echild.ac.uk.

Emmott, E.H., Jay, M.A. and Woodman, J. (2019) “Cohort profile: Children in need census (CIN) records of children referred for social care support in england,” BMJ Open, 9(2), p. e023771.

Etoori, D. et al. (2022) “Reductions in hospital care among clinically vulnerable children aged 0–4 years during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Arch Dis Child, 107, p. e29.

Feng, Q. et al. (2024a) “Data resource profile: A national linked mother-baby cohort of health, education and social care data in england (ECHILD-MB),” Int J Epidemiol, 53(3). doi:/10.1093/ije/dyae065.

Feng, Q. et al. (2024b) “Data resource profile: ECHILD only-children and siblings (ECHILD-oCSib): A national cohort of linked health, education and social care data on mothers and children in england,” IJPDS, 8(6). doi:/10.23889/ijpds.v8i6.2392.

Gilbert, R. et al. (2017) “GUILD: GUidance for Information about Linking Data sets,” J Pub Health, 40(1), pp. 191–198.

Green, F. et al. (2017) “Who chooses private schooling in britain and why?” Available at: https://www.llakes.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/RP-62.-Green-Anders-Henderson-Henseke.pdf.

Harron, K. et al. (2016) “Linking data for mothers and babies in de-identified electronic health data,” PLoS One, 11(10), p. e0164667.

Harron, K. et al. (2017) “A guide to evaluating linkage quality for the analysis of linked data,” Int J Epidemiol, 46, pp. 1699–1710.

Health Data Research (2023a) “Innovation gateway: Hospital episode statistics accident and emergency (HES a&e).” Available at: https://web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/101a7d68-1675-4b47-bfac-dde7b7b57877.

Health Data Research (2023b) “Innovation gateway: Hospital episode statistics admitted patient care (HES APC).” Available at: https://web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/6599230a-df54-4615-937c-d724d239491f.

Health Data Research (2023c) “Innovation gateway: Hospital episode statistics critical care (HES CC).” Available at: https://web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/d0eeba22-bc3f-4c40-be69-a99f916897a2.

Health Data Research (2023d) “Innovation gateway: Hospital episode statistics outpatients.” Available at: https://web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/d4362d41-0838-4f41-bba3-c3268312c444.

Health Data Research (2023e) “Innovation gateway: Maternity services data set (MSDS).” Available at: https://web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/0681a1e9-3778-4f43-88b3-6540515404b6.

Herbert, A. et al. (2017) “Data resource profile: Hospital episode statistics admitted patient care,” Int J Epidemiol, 46(4), pp. 1093–1093i.

Jay, M.A., Mc Grath-Lone, L. and Gilbert, R. (2019) “Data resource: The national pupil database (NPD),” Int J Pop Data Sci, 4(1), p. 08.

Libuy, N. et al. (2021) “Linking education and hospital data in england: Linkage process and quality,” Int J Pop Data Sci, 6(1), p. 13.

Libuy, N. et al. (2022) “Gestational age at birth, chronic conditions and school outcomes: A population-based data linkage study of children born in england,” Int J Epidemiol, 52(1), pp. 132–143.

Mc Grath-Lone, L., Dearden, L., et al. (2016) “Changes in first entry to out-of-home care from 1992 to 2012 among children in england,” Child Abuse & Neglect, 51, pp. 163–171.

Mc Grath-Lone, L., Harron, K., et al. (2016) “Data resource profile: Children looked after return (CLA),” Int J Epidemiol, 45(3), pp. 716–717f.

Mc Grath-Lone, L., Libuy, N., Harron, K., et al. (2021) “Data resource profile: The education and child health insights from linked data (ECHILD) database,” Int J Epidemiol, 51(1), pp. 17–17f.

Mc Grath-Lone, L., Libuy, N., Etoori, D., et al. (2021) “Ethnic bias in data linkage,” Lancet Digital Health, 3(6), p. e339.

Mc Grath-Lone, L., Etoori, D., et al. (2022) “Changes in adolescents’ planned hospital care during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of linked administrative data,” Arch Dis Chil, 107(10), p. e29.

Mc Grath-Lone, L., Jay, M.A., et al. (2022) “What makes administrative data ‘research-ready’? A systematic review and thematic analysis of published literature,” Int J Pop Data Sci, 7(1), p. 1718.

Morris, H., Lanati, S. and Gilbert, R. (2018) “Challenges of administrative data linkages: Experiences of administrative data research centre for england (ADRC-E) researchers,” Int J Pop Data Sci, 3(2), p. 097.

Nguyen, V.G. et al. (2022) “SEN support from the start of school and its impact on unplanned hospital utilisation in children with cleft lip and palate: A demonstration target trial emulation protocol using ECHILD.” Available at: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.04.01.22273280v1.

NHS England (2023a) “About the maternity services data set (MSDS).” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/maternity-services-data-set/about-the-maternity-services-data-set.

NHS England (2023b) “Birth notification process.” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-care-records-service/birth-notification-process.

NHS England (2023c) “ECDS guidance and documents.” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/emergency-care-data-set-ecds/ecds-guidance.

NHS England (2023d) “Emergency care data set (ECDS).” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/emergency-care-data-set-ecds.

NHS England (2023e) “Hospital accident & emergency activity.” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-accident--emergency-activity.

NHS England (2023f) “Hospital episode statistics data dictionary.” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-tools-and-services/data-services/hospital-episode-statistics/hospital-episode-statistics-data-dictionary.

NHS England (2023g) “Hospital episode statistics (HES).” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-tools-and-services/data-services/hospital-episode-statistics.

NHS England (2023h) “Hospital episode statistics (HES) data changes in 2021.” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-tools-and-services/data-services/hospital-episode-statistics/hospital-episode-statistics-data-changes-in-2021.

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NHS England (2024b) “Hospital adult critical care activity.” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-adult-critical-care-activity.

NHS England (2024c) “Mental health data (MHMDS, MHLDDS, MHSDS).” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/data-access-request-service-dars/dars-products-and-services/data-set-catalogue/mental-health-data.

NHS England (2024d) “Methodological changes.” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/find-data-and-publications/statement-of-administrative-sources/methodological-changes.

NHS Primary Care Support England (2023) “Adoptions and gender reassignment.” Available at: https://pcse.england.nhs.uk/help/patient-registrations/adoption-and-gender-re-assignment-processes/.

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Playford, C.J. et al. (2016) “Administrative social science data: The challenge of reproducible research,” Big Data & Society, 3, p. doi:10.1177/2053951716684143.

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UK Statistics Authority (2023) “Ethics self-assessment tool.” Available at: https://uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/the-authority-board/committees/national-statisticians-advisory-committees-and-panels/national-statisticians-data-ethics-advisory-committee/ethics-self-assessment-tool/.

University of Bristol (2023) “National pupil database user group.” Available at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cmpo/npd-user-group/.