Pertussis in New South Wales mothers and Children : epidemiological studies using linked administrative data

Abstract

Pertussis is a vaccine preventable disease that continues to cause periodic epidemics despite high immunisation coverage. Single sources of routinely collected data have traditionally been used to describe the epidemiology of pertussis. In the State of New South Wales (NSW), data from multiple sources (disease and death registries and hospital administrative data) linked at the individual level have become available through the NSW Centre for Health Record Linkage. Use of these data in a methodologically rigorous fashion gives the opportunity to enhance the scope and accuracy of disease burden and risk factor estimates for pertussis. Very few studies have examined the outcomes associated with pertussis infection during pregnancy. Large population-level linked routinely collected datasets provide a unique opportunity to study this issue, which is characterized by both a rare exposure (pertussis) and potentially rare outcomes (maternal morbidity). Similarly, infants too young for primary immunisation bear the greatest burden of severe disease but this is also a relatively rare occurrence and few studies have examined other risk factors for pertussis in early infancy. Additional information on the burden of and risk factors for pertussis in early infancy is needed to inform immunisation strategies. This thesis includes a series of studies using linked data from NSW, Australia to describe and identify risk factors for, burden and outcomes of, pertussis in mothers and children. These studies in NSW are expected to be applicable to similar settings in industrialised countries with long-established pertussis immunisation programs delivering high vaccine coverage.

Date of Award	2016
Original language	English