The SAIL Databank at Swansea University recently welcomed Dr Bethania Almeida, Vice Coordinator of the Centre for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health (CIDACS) at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), a leading public health research institution in Brazil.
The visit provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge and explore future collaboration between internationally recognised organisations working to enable secure, responsible use of population data for research that improves public health.
Dr Almeida, whose work focuses on data governance, health data integration, and the ethical, legal, and social dimensions of population data science, visited Swansea to learn more about SAIL Databank’s approaches to data acquisition, governance, and linked health data, alongside the Secure eResearch Platform’s trusted technology infrastructure.
The programme included presentations showcasing the breadth of data available through SAIL Databank, the technical capabilities of SeRP, and discussions around shared challenges and opportunities in secure health data research. Dr Almeida provided an overview of CIDACS, FIOCRUZ and opportunities at Brazil’s Ministry of Health. The meeting was concluded with a discussion around potential areas for future collaboration.
Dr Bethania Almeida, Vice Coordinator of CIDACS, said, “CIDACS and FIOCRUZ share many of the same ambitions as SAIL Databank and SeRP – to enable high-quality research that improves public health while maintaining robust governance and public trust. I was particularly interested to learn more about their approach to data acquisition, governance, reference data architecture and interoperability. This visit represents an important first step towards developing a broader dialogue between our organisations and how we can explore future opportunities for collaboration.”
Head of Business Development at SeRP and SAIL Databank, Chris Orton, added, “This meeting reflects the increasing importance of international collaboration to address global health challenges. Like SAIL and SeRP, CIDACS and FIOCRUZ are internationally recognised for their work linking large-scale administrative and health datasets to improve the understanding of major public health challenges across Brazil. These discussions have highlighted the many shared interests between our organisations.”
“Strengthening our relationships with international partners remains an important part of both SeRP and SAIL Databank’s mission to support world-leading research. Visits such as this provide valuable opportunities to exchange expertise, share best practice and lay the foundations for future collaborative research that can deliver benefits for public health, both in the UK and internationally.”
Professor Ashley Akbari, Head of the SAIL Databank UDSS team and SERP and SAIL management board member added, “It was fantastic to meet and discuss ongoing projects, programmes and services both of our organisations and countries are currently involved in delivering, and how shared experiences and collaboration may allow us to address challenges and opportunities in the future”.
