Metadata for Data dIscoverability aNd Study rEplicability in obseRVAtional Studies (MINERVA): Development and Pilot of a Metadata List and Catalogue in Europe

Romin Pajouheshnia*, Rosa Gini, Lia Gutierrez, Morris A Swertz, Eleanor Hyde, Miriam Sturkenboom, Alejandro Arana, Carla Franzoni, Vera Ehrenstein, Giuseppe Roberto, Miguel Gil, Miguel Angel Maciá, Wiebke Schäfer, Ulrike Haug, Nicolas H Thurin, Régis Lassalle, Cécile Droz-Perroteau, Silvia Zaccagnino, Maria Paula Busto, Bas MiddelkoopKarin Gembert, Francisco Sanchez-Saez, Clara Rodriguez-Bernal, Gabriel Sanfélix-Gimeno, Isabel Hurtado, Manuel Barreiro de Acosta, Beatriz Poblador-Plou, Jonás Carmona-Pírez, Antonio Gimeno-Miguel, Alexandra Prados-Torres, Anna Schultze, Ella Jansen, Ron Herings, Josine Kuiper, Igor Locatelli, Janja Jazbar, Špela Žerovnik, Mitja Kos, Steven Smit, Sirje Lind, Andres Metspalu, Stefania Simou, Karin Hedenmalm, Ana Cochino, Paolo Alcini, Xavier Kurz, Susana Perez-Gutthann

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Purpose: Metadata for data dIscoverability aNd study rEplicability in obseRVAtional studies (MINERVA), a European Medicines Agency–funded project (EUPAS39322), defined a set of metadata to describe real-world data sources (RWDSs) and piloted metadata collection in a prototype catalogue to assist investigators from data source discoverability through study conduct.
Methods: A list of metadata was created from a review of existing metadata catalogues and recommendations, structured interviews, a stakeholder survey, and a technical workshop. The prototype was designed to comply with the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable), using MOLGENIS software. Metadata collection was piloted by 15 data access partners (DAPs) from across Europe.
Results: A total of 442 metadata variables were defined in six domains: institutions (organizations connected to a data source); data banks (data collections sustained by an organization); data sources (collections of linkable data banks covering a common underlying population); studies; networks (of institutions); and common data models (CDMs). A total of 26 institutions were recorded in the prototype. Each DAP populated the metadata of one data source and its selected data banks. The number of data banks varied by data source; the most common data banks were hospital administrative records and pharmacy dispensation records (10 data sources each). Quantitative metadata were successfully extracted from three data sources conforming to different CDMs and entered into the prototype.
Conclusions: A metadata list was finalized, a prototype was successfully populated, and a good practice guide was developed. Setting up and maintaining a metadata catalogue on RWDSs will require substantial effort to support discoverability of data sources and reproducibility of studies in Europe.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere5871
Number of pages12
JournalPharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
Volume33
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug-2024

Keywords

  • catalogue
  • FAIR
  • metadata
  • observational studies
  • real-world data sources
  • reproducibility

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