Data sources
AIHW in partnership with DVA and Defence have established a linked dataset to provide greater insight into the health service needs of current and ex-serving ADF members. This dataset, the Veteran Health Dataset (VHD), allows the service use patterns for (de-identified) individuals to be tracked over time.
The VHD primarily links National Health datasets with information on Defence personnel held by the Defence, and DVA client information held by DVA. The national health datasets provide information on interactions with hospitals (admitted and emergency department care), Medicare Benefits Schedule services (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme services (PBS/RPBS). The National Health data also provides information on deaths including deaths by suicide. The Defence and DVA data are linked to the National Health datasets to identify ex-serving members and provide information on relevant characteristics. For more information on the VHD see Health services use by ex-serving Australian Defence Force members.
In addition to the VHD, this research uses the National Health Data Hub (NHDH) to enable comparisons between ex-serving members and the whole of Australia population. The NHDH formerly known as the National Integrated Health Services Information Analysis Asset is an enduring linked data asset managed under the custodianship of the AIHW. This analysis was based on an older version of the asset which only had data up to June 2020 to align with the VHD. The asset includes state/territory hospitals data and national health administrative data sets.
More information is available at National Integrated Health Service Information (NIHSI) version 2.0.
The VHD and NHDH are described at Health services use by ex-serving Australian Defence Force members.
The research also used the 2021 ABS Census of Population and Housing. The Census provides a snapshot of Australia. It collected data on the key characteristics of people in Australia on Census night and the dwellings in which they live every five years. In 2021, the Census was conducted on 10 August. The Census provides a comprehensive picture of Australians, at the national or state and territory level, and for a range of smaller geographic units including local government areas. The 2021 Census was the first question which collected information on whether a person had been told by a doctor or nurse that they had any of the [selected] long-term health conditions.