DSL – Data Sustains Life

Lay Description

Road traffic collisions (RTCs) cause a troubling 30,000 deaths and serious injuries annually. It is estimated to cost Great Britain’s economy around £42 billion each year. The Data Sustains Life (DSL) study aims to significantly reduce the tragic loss of life and serious harm. The DSL study aims to link healthcare and road safety data to evidence preventative strategies towards vision zero. The project has two key objectives:

Objective 1

Linkage of existing registries The DSL project aims to link healthcare and road traffic collision data for Dorset, Hampshire and Thames Valley regions within the PRANA Registry as part of the Wessex NHS Secure Data Environment. Specifically, this project aims to link the following datasets: Hospital Episode Statistics, Emergency Care Data Set, register of death, STATS19, DfT Road Accident In-Depth Studies (RAIDS), police fatal files and coroner’s reports.

Objective 2

Analysis of linked data the DSL study team will assess the capabilities of this linked data for understanding the causes, outcomes, and costs associated with road traffic collisions through comprehensive analysis. DSL aims to create actionable insights from a number of prioritised pilot studies from this linked healthcare and road collision data.

Public Benefit Statement

DSL is strongly aligned to delivering public benefit and the Wessex SDE’s Strategic Priorities as outlined below:

• Reducing serious injury and death is a key driver for DSL, the Road Safety Trust and DfT to highlight how changes in policy can pro-actively reduce the incidence of RTCs in the UK
• Linking our currently captured STATS19 data with health data for the first time will allow us to create an incredibly valuable resource that will enable new types of research and for pre-hospital care crews to better understand and improve the treatments that they provide for long-term health benefits
• Once this data is linked in the SDE we will have a first in a lifetime opportunity to look at the causes and impacts of the pre-hospital care pathway to deliver new insights and research capabilities not possible anywhere else in the world
• As one of the first research project to use linked PRANA data there will be a huge opportunity to demonstrate the value of our SDE and the SDE Network as whole. Outcomes will be actively shared and promoted via all channels including both public and researchers. We further expect this to attract new researchers and funding nationally and internationally as a result.
• DSL will allow us to review the entire care pathway to make improvements in the linking and delivery of care, which may be relevant not just for road injuries but across a range of other diseases and pathways.
• By evidencing the value of the PRANA dataset, we will enable a new era of pre-hospital research never before possible. This has the potential to attract new funding and contribute to National and Government aims for research in the UK, and support other departments, such as Highways and DfT.