INTEGRATED DATABASE FOR AGING RESEARCH

THE PURPOSE OF THIS SBIR GRANT WILL BE TO DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED DATABASE FOR AGING RESEARCH TO BE DISTRIBUTED ON OPTICAL DISK(S). THE DATABASE WILL CONTAIN EXTENSIVE INFORMATION FROM THE FOLLOWING PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA FILES: THE 1982, 1984, 1989/90 NATIONAL LONG TERM CARE SURVEYS (NLTCS) INCLUDING THE VERSIONS LINKED TO MEDICARE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, NATIONAL MEDICAL EXPENDITURE SURVEY (NMES), NATIONAL NURSING HOME SURVEY (NNHS), AND OPTIONALLY, THE SURVEY ON INCOME AND PROGRAM PARTICIPATION (SIPP). THE RESEARCH WILL INVESTIGATE INNOVATIVE USES OF THE FOLLOWING NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR MANAGING AND DISTRIBUTING THE DATA: CD ROM, WRITE ONCE READ MANY DEVICES (WORMS), AND RE-WRITABLE OPTICAL DISKS. THE TARGET MARKET CONSISTS OF RESEARCHERS AT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR CAREERS, ADVANCED GRADUATE STUDENTS, TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, AND OTHER PARTIES WITH COMMERCIAL INTERESTS IN THE HEALTH CARE ARENA. THE DATABASE WILL BE SOLD TO RESEARCHERS AT COST AND TO COMMERCIAL INTEREST AT A PROFIT. THE END PRODUCT WILL CONSIST OF A DATA ARCHIVE CONTAINING EXTRACTS OF THE ABOVE SURVEYS, DATA BASE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, AND CERTAIN COMPUTED VARIABLES (E. G., SURVEY WEIGHTS) TO FACILITATE ANALYSIS. AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF THE SURVEY DATASETS WILL BE COMPLETED TO IDENTIFY THE MOST USEFUL VARIABLES TO INCLUDE IN THE DATABASE. THESE VARIABLES WILL BE EXTRACTED INTO A SMALLER, MORE MANAGEABLE ANALYTIC FILE. ACCOMPANYING THE DATA ARCHIVE WILL BE COMPLETE DOCUMENTATION TO INCLUDE USAGE NOTES, VARIABLE DEFINITIONS, AND SAMPLE WEIGHTS TO ALLOW COMPARABLE ESTIMATES TO BE MADE FROM THE SURVEYS. A FLEXIBLE DATA RETRIEVAL SOFTWARE SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED TO FACILITATE ACCESS TO THE DATA.