For Researchers
OHS Data and Biosamples: Access and Linkage
Your research starts here
[Jump to: The OHS Access Process | Data Linkage | Ancillary Studies]
Is your project already approved? Manage your project here.
Health researchers come to the Ontario Health Study when they need longitudinal data on a large adult population, augmented with the availability of blood and other biosamples, genetic data and more. Uniquely suited for investigator-led research, the OHS helps researchers explore their questions about how lifestyle, the environment and genetics interact to affect people’s health.
Take your research idea to reality.
Questions? Contact our Research Operations and Access Officer at access@ontariohealthstudy.ca
1. Review the OHS access requirements
- Read the OHS Access Policy.
- Students and trainees are encouraged to request OHS data and biosamples, provided their supervisor is listed as the Primary Applicant.
2. Identify your data and biosample needs
- Review “What’s Available.”
- Submit a Project Feasibility Assessment Form (Optional). Use this form to request:
- A letter of support for a grant or ethics submission,
- A cost estimate for accessing OHS data and/or biosamples,
- A feasibility review of your proposal, or
- To confirm the OHS has the data or samples required.
- Plan to work with linked data? Learn the additional requirements for linking with administrative data. Administrative data is not held by the OHS, however the OHS works closely with three data repositories to coordinate timing and approvals.
- Need data and/or biosamples from other regional cohorts (B.C., Alberta, Quebec or the Atlantic provinces)? Visit Canpath.ca.
3. Secure funding and ethics approval
- Need a Letter of Support for your grant application? Want a cost estimate to confirm you have sufficient funds for accessing the data and biosamples you need? Submit a Project Feasibility Assessment Form.
- Ensure your research protocol clearly identifies the OHS as a data source, prior to review by your REB. This will avoid the delay of having to submit an REB amendment.
4. Submit a Data and Biosample Access Application Form
With your application, you will also need to provide the following:
- REB approval letter
- REB-approved Research Protocol
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the Principal Applicant (2 pages)
- Evidence of a peer-reviewed research protocol (if available)
- Evidence of funding (if available)
- If your project requires data linkage, confirmation of feasibility or approval from the data custodian
5. The OHS reviews your application
- Your application is first assessed for completeness, then reviewed by members of the OHS Access Committee.
- The review takes ~6 weeks.
- If your request is declined by the Access Committee, you may revise and resubmit your application.
6. OHS Access Committee approves your application
Congratulations! Next steps:
- Pay the Data and Biosample fees.
- Review and sign the Data and Biosample Access Agreement or relevant Supplemental Access Agreement.
- Both you and your institution will need to sign the access agreement.
- If research team members are from other institutions, a Data and Biosample Access Agreement will also need to be executed with their institution(s).
Is your project already approved? View Managing Your OHS Research Project.
Data linkage involves linking information about the same person from multiple sources. Data for fully 83% of OHS participants have been linked with administrative health records, such as the Ontario Cancer Registry or OHIP claims databases.
Linkage opportunities
OHS and ICES
The OHS has a data sharing agreement with ICES that facilitates linking de-identified OHS data with other data holdings at ICES, including, but not limited to:
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Learn more about the breadth of ICES data holdings.
Non-ICES researchers, students and knowledge users can access these data through the ICES Data & Analytic Services (ICES DAS). For a full list of ICES Data Repository datasets, including detailed descriptions of individual variables and their values, view the ICES Data Dictionary.
Accessing OHS-linked ICES data requires separate access requests to be submitted to the OHS and ICES. To learn more about how to request OHS data that is linked to ICES data sets, please email access@ontariohealthstudy.ca.
OHS and Ontario Health
OHS de-identified data can be linked with administrative health data at Ontario Health, including the Ontario Cancer Registry.
Accessing OHS-linked Ontario Health data requires separate access requests to both the OHS and Ontario Health. To learn more about how to request OHS data that is linked to Ontario Health data sets, please email access@ontariohealthstudy.ca.
OHS and CANUE
OHS de-identified data can also be linked to local environmental data held by the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE).
As part of CanPath, some OHS data has been merged with CANUE exposure data sets and are now available to researchers. CANUE has provided researchers with an index measuring exposures to air and noise pollution, green space and more, for every postal code in Canada.
Learn more about CANUE data sets linked to health databases, and review which CANUE data are pre-linked to OHS data.
OHS data linkage process
Administrative data is not held by the OHS, however the OHS works closely with three data custodians (Ontario Health, CANUE and ICES) to coordinate data access approvals with those of the OHS.
For projects requiring linkage with Ontario Health or ICES, researchers will first work directly with the data repository to confirm project feasibility, before submitting an OHS access application. A separate access application to the data repository (and a separate access fee) also may be required.
For CANUE data, researchers must be from a SMART Consortium-member institution to access CANUE data, and must sign a ‘Data Use and Sharing via Third-Party’ agreement.
Questions? Email our OHS Access Officer access@ontariohealthstudy.ca
Projects using OHS and linked administrative data
See how some researchers have used linked data to explore their research question:
Early-Onset Breast Cancer
In 2020 Dr. Darren Brenner looked at data from female OHS participants and the Ontario Cancer Registry to explore why some women under 50 get breast cancer.
CANUE (2017-Present)
Research is currently ongoing with the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE), which is working to provide scientists with an index measuring exposures to air and noise pollution, green space and much more, for every postal code in Canada.
Greenspace and Health
In 2015 Dr. Marc Berman combined OHS questionnaire data with the City of Toronto’s forestry records to quantify the positive effect of neighbourhood green space on individual health.
Many OHS participants have consented to being re-contacted about joining other health-related research studies. When appropriate, the OHS has partnered with several independent studies that sought to enable recruitment to their studies, or find matching control groups of participants with appropriate health or demographic profiles.
Contact access@ontariohealthstudy.ca to learn more about these ancillary studies or discuss your idea with our Research Operations and Access Officer.
Recent partnerships:
The Ontario Sleep Health Study collected accelerometry and sleep respiratory function from approximately 3,300 participants.
The Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds has collected MRIs, and conducted Food Frequency Questionnaires and cognitive assessments from more than 3,000 participants.
A small study out of the University of Toronto (SPARK) asked 60 participants to wear contact lenses to explore new methods for the early detection of breast cancer.
Receive research updates
Be the first to know about new data sets, event invites, funding opportunities and more by signing up for the OHS Research Bulletin.
