F.7 Data and information attributes Flashcards
Distinguish the key attributes of any type of data and information in relation to their intended or potential use in health.
What is an entity?
Something that exists with separate, distinct, and objective reality
Examples include a person or a hospital.
What is a data entity?
An entity that can have data relating to it
Examples include a person or a hospital represented in a data collection.
Define the term ‘concept’ in health informatics.
A generalised abstraction of something that exists in the mind, which examples may represent
Examples include a diagnosis.
What is a data concept?
A concept that can have data relating to it
Example: Diagnosis, represented in a data collection.
What is a data object?
A data entity or concept with common properties stored and operated upon during the running of a software program
Examples include a person or piece of equipment.
What is an attribute?
A property associated with a data entity, concept, or object
Examples include first name, date of birth, gender.
What does the term ‘relationship’ refer to in health informatics?
A way in which different data entities, concepts, or objects may be associated
Example: A health service provider is a person.
What are the three types of attributes?
Simple, Composite, Derived
Examples: Simple - first name; Composite - full name; Derived - age from date of birth.
What is a single-value attribute?
Attributes only captured once
Example: First name.
What is a multi-value attribute?
Attributes that can be captured more than once for an entity
Example: Multiple mobile phone numbers.
What is an entity-relationship diagram?
A graphical depiction of entities/concepts and their relationships to attributes and other entities/concepts.
What are some principles guiding attribute elaboration?
- Compliance with regulations
- Restricting attributes to organizational purposes
- Recognition of sensitive information
- Representing attributes meaningfully
- Documenting metadata appropriately.
What metadata is relevant for the specification of attributes?
- Name
- Description
- Format
- Value domain
- Classification/Terminology/Vocabulary
- Owner
- Derivation
- Source.
True or False: Data and metadata standards facilitate effective use of data.
True.
What is the value of adopting data standards in health informatics?
Facilitates effective use of data, efficiency in development and collection, ensures data quality, and promotes data sharing and reuse.
Fill in the blank: An official terminological system recognized and endorsed by a national or international body used to classify data is called _______.
[terminological system].
