Linkage at Population Data BC (PopData) is done following strict guidelines and within a high-security environment.  As personally identifying information, such as names, dates of birth, Personal Health Numbers (PHNs) or Personal Education Numbers (PENs) may be used in linkages, a number of precautions are taken to maximize security and privacy.

Population Data BC (PopData) performs linkage on intake of a new data set from a Data Provider, where approved. New data sets are received from Data Providers throughout the year and incorporated into PopData’s holdings on an ongoing basis.

PopData uses personal identifiers and mathematical linkage techniques to link records belonging to the same individual across files and over time. 

What is data linkage?

Linkage allows information on an individual from one data source to be linked to information on the same individual from another data source. Using the linked data makes it possible to gain a more comprehensive understanding than could be obtained from either data source individually.

Linkage can also be used for conducting longitudinal analyses within the same data source, even when identifying information is recorded inconsistently, incompletely or has changed over time.