Standardizing health data stewardship principles and practices in Canada

ObjectiveCanada is a constitutional federation, and responsibility for delivery of health and social services rests primarily with provinces and territories. This creates variation in legislation, regulation, policies and practice, including for governance and stewardship of health and social data. We describe collaborative efforts led by CIHI to reduce variations. MethodsThe starting points were recommendations from a pandemic-inspired expert advisory group on a pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy and an associated Pan-Canadian Health Data Charter. The Charter identifies 10 principles that “honour the duty to put people and populations at the core of all decisions about the disclosure, access and use of health information.” These resources were augmented with: a data stewardship framework crafted over eight months by a committee of all levels of government; a literature review; and interviews with key exemplars such as England’s National Data Guardian. The development process included engagement with many different interest holders. ResultsThere is widespread recognition that standardizing approaches to data stewardship requires a shift in mindsets and collective culture. It will