Understanding mental health care across the whole system through linked data

Mental health records from a major trust in the South West are to be linked to other datasets to unlock new research, thanks to a new project.

It has historically been difficult to make use of routinely collected mental health for research. Data about mental health is amongst the most sensitive information in any patient’s health records. But using it securely for research has potential to enable us to improve care pathways and optimise treatment for people with mental illness.

Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the South West Secure Data Environment (SDE) are teaming up to develop a secure mental health data pipeline. It will enable de-identified electronic patient records from Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust (AWP) to be securely available for research via the SDE.

This opens opportunities to link mental health data with other information from the health and care system.

The project team will develop systems to process structured and unstructured data, set up governance and legal frameworks and ensure ethical oversight. They will also create protocols for linking AWP data with other sources, such as GP, hospital and social care records and research datasets.

Examining eating disorders as a test case

The project team hope to focus on eating disorders to test the processes and pipeline.

Through linking data across mental health and other services, they will be able to map treatment pathways for people with eating disorders. It will shed light on things like how long they wait for care, what treatments they receive and their contacts with other NHS services.

The researchers will also explore patterns in research cohort data, such as Children of the 90s, to understand risk factors and outcomes.

This work will help identify opportunities for prevention and early intervention, evaluate services and investigate inequalities in access and outcomes.

It will also lead to a blueprint for creating linked mental health datasets, enabling similar research for other conditions in the future.

Dr Helen Bould, Associate Professor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Bristol Medical School and Bristol BRC, said:

“Mental health is deeply connected to a person’s physical health and social circumstances. Although physical and mental health are often treated separately in healthcare, they are not experienced separately.

“We hope this work will help us better understand the journey of people with eating disorders through the system. This will help us understand how services, and transitions between them, can be optimised, identify opportunities to intervene earlier and, ultimately, improve treatment.”

Dr Rachel Denholm, South West SDE Research Lead and Bristol BRC Theme Lead, said:

“This is not only an opportunity to improve services for people with eating disorders, but to create a blueprint for linking mental health data to other information.

“By streamlining this process, we are removing the technical barriers that have historically slowed down mental health research. This means that whether we are looking at eating disorders today or depression and anxiety tomorrow, we can generate the high-quality evidence needed to transform care across the region.”