**1. Introduction**

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) is a leader in health and welfare information. Its analytical work program offers insights into how Australians interact with the health and welfare systems, through the analysis of a broad range of data sourced from surveys, administrative records, and service delivery functions. The outputs of the AIHW work program provide strong evidence as a basis for better policy and program delivery decisions that ultimately lead to improved health and welfare outcomes for Australians [1].

The AIHW is an international leader in data integration and has gained accreditation as an integrating authority [2,3]. This accreditation allows the AIHW to integrate Australian governmen<sup>t</sup> data for statistical and research purposes.

In this context, the AIHW has developed an extensive data integration program that has provided opportunities to build richer analytical datasets, which can deliver research outcomes beyond what is possible from analysis of single data sources. The program of work has provided opportunities for the following:


The AIHW adheres to all relevant legislation and guidelines to ensure it upholds strict privacy and confidentiality requirements.

**Citation:** Jensen, L.R. Using Data Integration to Improve Health and Welfare Insights. *Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health* **2022**, *19*, 836. https:// doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020836

Academic Editors: Richard Madden and Jeanine M. Buchanich

Received: 1 November 2021 Accepted: 5 January 2022 Published: 12 January 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

The AIHW seeks opportunities to drive innovation in the collection, use, and analysis of health and welfare information, to learn from international experience, and to develop approaches that align with best practice. The AIHW's international engagemen<sup>t</sup> includes the following:


#### **2. AIHW Data Integration Projects**

To date, data integration projects undertaken by the AIHW have generated improved research outcomes for a number of specific population groups and health and welfare topics. This has supported the identification of vulnerable population groups, provided a better understanding of health and welfare risk factors, and contributed to the development of targeted interventions. The AIHW has addressed significant data gaps, extended analysis of complex relationships in health and welfare, and undertaken pioneering research that provides new insights into how Australians interact with health and welfare systems.

Projects are currently underway which seek to maximize the use of broad, national data assets to build a more holistic understanding of the interrelationships between the determinants of health and wellbeing for Australians. Some of these assets are held and maintained by the AIHW, while others are accessed in partnership with other Australian governmen<sup>t</sup> agencies.

All AIHW data integration projects are conducted in partnership with a range of data custodians and specialists in data integration and analysis. Recent and upcoming AIHW data integration projects are described below.
