Uniting Data, Research and Policy for Better Health

Since its inception in 2014, the South African NHLS National Laboratory Research Cohorts represents a unique collaboration between clinicians, researchers and policy makers with three
key aims:

RIGOROUS RESEARCH that informs health policy;

LOCAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE to support research and patient care; and

TRAINING AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES for researchers and scientists.

Leveraging the unique laboratory data resources within the NHLS and NICD, the Cohorts teams have applied novel data linkage techniques to national level laboratory data in South Africa to create longitudinal patient cohorts able to explore pressing public health questions in HIV, TB, pregnancy, non-communicable diseases among others.

This initiative positions South Africa at the forefront of global efforts to integrate and repurpose health data for maximum public health impact.

Pillars of the

NHLS National Cohorts
Collaboration

Development and validation of GRAPHLINK record linkage algorithm

Technical assistance to integrate LINKAGE ALGORITHM into NHLS data systems

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH using NHLS Cohorts by our teams and others

LINKAGE OF NHLS DATA to create four Cohorts: National HIV Cohort, National TB Cohort, National HIV-Pregnancy Cohort, National Multimorbidity Cohort

PARTNERSHIP WITH NHLS/NICD for continued investment in data linkage, maintenance of NHLS Cohorts, and research data governance to improve access to broader scientific community and inform policy

project

Cohorts

  • HIV Pregnancy Cohort

    A nationwide platform that reveals how health-system factors, mobility, and treatment policies shape maternal and infant HIV outcomes.

  • HIV Cohort

    A national lab-based HIV cohort evaluating the real-world performance of South Africa’s Universal Test-and-Treat policies.

  • Multimorbidity Cohort

    A national, longitudinal laboratory cohort linking two decades of HIV, TB and NCD data to transform multimorbidity research in South Africa.

Collaborating

Partners