RDC News: July 2014

Congratulations to Rebecca Casey! 3MT People's Choice Winner

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition challenges participants to present their research in just 180 seconds to an audience with no background in that particular research area. One of our RDC researchers, Rebecca Casey from the Department of Sociology, has won the 2014 McMaster 3MT People's Choice Award. Her presentation "Health outcomes following a work injury", compared CCHS data to data from the Research Action Alliance on the Consequences of Work Injury (RAACWI). A video of her presentation can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/woLgs-p-1nY She has donated the prize money to the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG). Congratulations to Becky for a job well done!

New data sets at the RDC: In the upcoming weeks we will be receiving new data sets and surveys at the McMaster Research Data Centre. Please see the information below. Researchers interested in accessing these data sets are encouraged to submit proposals!

Vital Statistics Database

Data from three different vital statistics databases are available to researchers: the Vital Statistics - Birth Database, the Vital Statistics-Death Database, and the Vital Statistics-Stillbirth Database. All are administrative surveys that collect demographic information annually on all live births, stillbirths, and deaths in Canada. Responding to these surveys is mandatory, with a central Vital Statistics Registry in each province and territory providing data to Statistics Canada. These are excellent sources of information for researchers interested in analyzing birth and deaths, diseases and health conditions, population demographics, life expectancies and deaths, and pregnancy and births. For further details, please go to the information pages on Statistics Canada website. 

For the Vital Statistics – Birth Database, please go to: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3231
For the Vital Statistics – Death Database, please go to: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3233
For the Vital Statistics – Stillbirth Database, please go to: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3234

Canadian Community Health Survey: Rapid response on food skills - knowledge, planning, and transference of skills, 2012
New survey data on food skills is now available from the rapid response component of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) -Annual Component. Data was collected from all provinces in November and December of 2012. Respondents were asked questions related to: how their meals were prepared (such as children's participation); the frequency of meals eating at home; the types of ingredients used in food preparation; and grocery shopping. These questions were added to the CCHS with the sponsorship of the Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Canada. This module can be used in conjunction with the CCHS: Rapid response on food skills-mechanical skills and food conceptualization, 2013 though both data sets are independent and can be used separately. Those interested in research questions related to nutrition or lifestyle and social conditions may find this data set useful. For further details please go to the information page on the at the Statistics Canada website.