Learning Objectives for this Presentation:
By the end of the presentation participants will be able to:
• Understand the importance of uniform data definitions
• Understand the benefits of collaborative approaches to common issues in public health
• See robust examples of detailed information presented in an easy-to-use format


Background:
In the spring of 2005 the American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA) launched the Data Definitions Workgroup whose objective was to collect existing codes sets used by IIS and map these against each other; identify the needs for new or different code sets and set up a process for IIS to add them to the collection; and to promote the use of standard code sets and interface with other IT groups.

Setting:
NA

Population:
NA

Project Description:
A dedicated group of individuals from different organizations worked to complete these tasks. The team developed a framework to organize the data elements used by IIS and assembled this list. The workgroup members wrote a brief, meaningful definition for each data element and its code set. After committee consensus was reached, the document was reviewed by AIRA and other organizations.

Results/Lessons Learned:
A multi-tabbed Excel workbook was developed with four main sections (tabs): an Introduction; an Index of all data items found in the document; Data Requirement Status for key organizations or applications; and detailed Item Definitions with code values included. The workgroup believes this document will be most useful for analysts, researchers, IT staff, registry managers and program managers interested in data collected in IIS. It complements the work of the AIRA Messaging workgroup who have focused on message specifications. Both are based on Health Level 7 specifications. This document is available on the AIRA public web site at:http://www.immregistries.org/docs/IIS_Data_Codebook_10022006.xls