title: Hospital admissions in children with cerebral palsy: a data linkage study.
abstract: The overall aim was to investigate the feasibility and utility of linking a cerebral palsy (CP) register to an administrative data set for health services research purposes. We sought to compare CP hospital admissions to general childhood population admissions, and identify factors associated with type and frequency of admissions in a CP cohort.
  
  
  
  The CP register for Victoria, Australia was linked to the state's hospital admissions database. Data pertaining to the admissions of a CP cohort (n=1748) that took place between 2007 and 2014 were extracted. Population data were also obtained.
  
  
  
  Overall, 80% of the CP cohort (n=1401) had at least admission between 2007 and 2014, accounting for 11 012 admissions or 1.5% of all admissions in their age group. Compared to general population admissions, CP admissions were more costly and more likely to be elective (66% vs 57%; p<0.001), medical (71% vs 57%; p<0.001), and to take place in metropolitan hospitals (92% vs 78%; p<0.001). Increased CP severity and complexity were associated with having more admissions and a higher proportion of admissions attributable to respiratory illness.
  
  
  
  By linking with administrative data sets, CP registers may be useful for health services research and inform health service delivery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Developmental Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meehan
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Developmental Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Developmental Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Developmental Medicine, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Katrina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Health Systems and Workforce Unit, Centre for Health Policy, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Freed
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Jillian R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sewell
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Data Science, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Suzanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vidmar
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Data Science, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Donath
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Developmental Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.|Developmental Medicine, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Dinah S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Reddihough
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001315:Australia; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D012042:Registries; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000209:etiology