Custom Data Requests

Revised February 3, 2010

For routine use of the NC DETECT Web-based application, please request an account to access the Web application.

If you are interested in using the data for public health-related research and do not intend to access NC DETECT data via the Web application on a regular basis, you must work with the North Carolina Public Health Data Group Data Oversight Committee (DOC). DOC membership includes representatives from NC DPH, UNC Chapel Hill Department of Emergency Medicine, and others identified at the discretion of NC DPH. All data set requests will be reviewed by the DOC. Data requests can be honored as long as they are practical, technical resources are available, and the data release agrees with existing State of North Carolina law provisions. The DOC reserves the right to reject applications, based upon:

• Incomplete information
• Relevance of the study question
• Ability of the investigators to analyze the data
• Concerns for security or confidentiality
• Concerns for volatility of data, potential security threats, issues under active investigation, potential criminal issues
• Other reasons as determined by DOC

To begin review by the DOC, please complete the following steps:

1. Draft a brief proposal of your request. The proposal should include the study purpose, explain the public health significance of the project, the data source(s), data elements, date range and data format requested. The data elements page should be consulted in writing your proposal; requesting data elements that we do not collect may delay the processing of your request. Please also consult the hospital status page to understand the completeness and date range availability of the emergency department data. Please note that hospital facility names cannot be included in any dataset. A sample form (Word) / PDF is available that may be used as a guide for the development of your proposal.
2. Submit your proposal via email to amy_ising (AT) med (DOT) unc (DOT) edu and heather.vaughan-batten (AT) dhhs (DOT) nc (DOT) gov. You will be contacted by a member of the Data Oversight Committee within 10 business days with any questions or clarifications.
3. If your proposal is complete and accepted tentatively by the DOC, the next step is to review the NC DETECT Data Use Agreement (Word) / (PDF version). Copy and paste your proposal from Steps 1 and 2 into the Data Use Agreement (DUA). A Sample Data Use Agreement is available. ***Please do not sign the DUA until your proposal information has been added to it and the DUA has been approved by the NC DPH. Please note that anyone who will be using and accessing the NC DETECT data will need to sign the DUA. Please review the DUA carefully. Any modifications made to an approved DUA may require additional DOC approval. Contact information for faxing the completed documentation will be provided by the DOC.
4. You must receive Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from your home institution. As you will be working with de-identified data, you should be able to apply for and receive an IRB waiver. Confirmation of IRB approval should also be submitted to the Data Oversight Committee. Data will not be released until IRB approval is received.

The individual requesting the data file is required to provide a report regarding findings or use of data to the DOC within 12 months of data release.

The DOC requests a copy of any material, from any user group, developed for presentation or publication that has been derived from the requested data, at least two weeks before the presentation or publication. The purpose is to insure that 1) institutional and personal confidentiality is maintained and 2) the material contains the disclaimer described below.

For oral or written presentations or publications, the source of the data must be attributed to The NC Public Health Data Group and NC DETECT. Material must include the following disclaimer: The NC Public Health Data Group and NC DETECT do not take responsibility for the scientific validity or accuracy of methodology, results, statistical analyses, or conclusions presented.