Researchers can now get an early indication of how many people may meet their study eligibility criteria using SampleScope, a new service developed by Data Connect Australia (DCA) and delivered through participating Data Linkage Units.

For health researchers, one of the first and most important questions is often also one of the hardest to answer: Are there enough people who meet my study criteria?

Until now, researchers often needed to progress through formal data access processes before they could determine whether enough people were likely to meet their study criteria. This can mean investing significant time and resources in a study before knowing whether it is likely to be feasible.

SampleScope changes that.

Researchers enter their study’s inclusion and exclusion criteria, using characteristics such as demographics, diagnoses, procedures and interventions. The Data Linkage Unit then runs the query and returns a single number showing how many people meet those criteria against the relevant linked administrative datasets.

This early insight can help researchers assess feasibility using linked, real-world population data, refine eligibility criteria and make more informed decisions about study design, grant applications and recruitment planning.

Supporting better research outcomes
Using linked, real-world population data, Data Connect Australia’s new SampleScope tool gives researchers a quick, reliable way to assess how many people meet their eligibility criteria— before they commit.

Aaron Davis, Director of Research Innovation, Queensland Health, said SampleScope provides much-needed certainty during the planning phase.

“SampleScope adds precision to the feasibility process and gives greater confidence to everyone involved in clinical trial placement… It allows researchers to understand from the outset how many people may meet all the eligibility criteria for their research project, helping them design more realistic studies and reducing the risk of surprises when recruitment begins.”

Protecting privacy throughout the process
Protecting patient privacy and ensuring the responsible use of health data are central to the design of SampleScope. 

SampleScope enables researchers to assess potential cohort sizes, using linked data, without ever accessing patient-level information. Queries are run by participating Data Linkage Units against linked data held in secure data environments within the relevant state health department.

Researchers only receive a single cohort count where the result is above the minimum reporting threshold, providing an additional safeguard against the potential identification of individuals.