Access to and Utilization of the Open Source Data-related to Adolescent Health

청소년 건강관련 공개자료 접근 및 활용에 관한 고찰

Background & Objectives: Current trend is that funding agencies require investigators to share their data with others. However, there is limited guidance how to access and utilize the shared data. We sought to determine what common data sharing practices in U.S.A. are, what data-related to adolescent health are freely available, and how we deal with the large dataset adopting the complex study design. Methods: The study included only research data-related to adolescent health which was collected in USA and unlimitedly accessible through the internet. Only the raw data, not aggregated, was considered for the study. Major keywords for web search were "adolescent", "children", "health", and "school". Results: Current approaches for public health data sharing lacked of common standards and varied largely due to the data's complex nature, large size, local expertise and internal procedures. Some common data sharing practices are unlimited access, formal screened access, restricted access, and informal exclusive access. The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention were the best data depository. "Data on the net" was search engine for the website providing data freely available. Six datasets related to adolescent health freely available were identified. The importance and methods of incorporating complex research design into analysis was discussed. Conclusion: There have been various attempts to standardize process for open access and open data using the information technology concept. However, it may not be easy for researchers to adapt themselves to this high technology. Therefore, guidance provided by this study may help researchers enhance the accessibility to and the utilization of the open source data.