Background
Data can only be used if people know what is available and how to access it. The All-Ireland Health Data Inventory is a catalogue of key health-related data sources.

Aims
The aim of the Inventory is to increase awareness, access and use of relevant and current datasets.

Progress report (updated February 2008)
The All-Ireland Health Data Inventory Part 1: Metadata for Key Data Sources was launched in November 2007 at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland.

The Inventory can be downloaded as a PDF from our publications section. Details of, and links to, individual datasets are also available on our Institute eLibrary.

This document catalogues the data sources from the major information reviews conducted on the island of Ireland in recent years. It also includes the data sources listed in the Institute of Public Health in Ireland’s (IPH) eLibrary.

Each of the ISO initial datasets has been included in the All-Ireland electronic Health Library (AIeHL) so they can be more easily accessed over the internet.

An expanding numbering system is used for the datasets so that the data inventory can be easily updated. The Inventory uses the revised metadata standards published by the Institute in 2006 to systematically describe around 150 selected data sources from across the island.

Contact: Kevin P Balanda