EAVE II

Tracking the COVID-19 pandemic as it happens across Scotland.

Summary (Research in a nutshell)

What is EAVE II?

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Public Health Scotland other partners, are using patient data across Scotland to track the COVID-19 pandemic and monitor the effectiveness of new treatments and vaccines against it.

Professor Aziz Sheikh, the EAVE II study lead, believes it forms a crucial element in overcoming the pandemic. Outputs from EAVE II continue to inform policymakers, clinicians and the public on the benefits of interventions and the epidemic’s overall progress.

Data from across Scotland

The EAVE II cohort contains key information relevant to COVID-19 for all 5.4 million individuals registered with a general practice (GP) in Scotland from 23 February 2020 – approximately 98-99% of the Scottish population.

The EAVE II team set up one of the first national scale datasets in the world, allowing trained, approved researchers to understand more about the COVID-19 pandemic across the whole population, in near real-time.

How patient data is kept safe

The study is using established data security principles and processes to keep information secure.

EAVE II researchers do not have access to view personal medical records, and do not know the identities of any individuals. The information is grouped into broad categories and any information that could identify individuals is removed. All data are securely stored within Public Health Scotland. Only approved researchers working to answer priority research questions on COVID-19 can use the data.

The cohort's data is updated frequently throughout the course of the project. For example, information about individuals who permanently leave Scotland (and de-register from GPs) will be removed.

The Public Health Scotland privacy notice explains how data is kept safe.

The EAVE II team is committed to being transparent and open about the study’s use of health care data for supporting the COVID-19 pandemic response. We have a Public Advisory Group who collaborate with EAVE II researchers, including two members who sit on the EAVE II Steering Group.

Find out more about the EAVE II Public Advisory Group

Key people

Website

Visit the EAVE II website for more information

Contact

Press and PR Office

Shane Canning

The University of Edinburgh

Tel: +44 (0)7979 446 209

Email: press.office@ed.ac.uk

All other enquiries

Usher Institute Communications Team

Susan Buckingham

Usher Institute

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

The University of Edinburgh

Email: usher.communications@ed.ac.uk

Key publications

Quick reference list of all key EAVE II publications on the EAVE II website

Key Collaborations

Public Health Scotland

University of Strathclyde

University of St Andrews

West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre

University of Aberdeen

BREATHE – Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health

Partners and Funders

The EAVE project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (project number 13/34/14).

EAVE II is funded by the Medical Research Council [MR/R008345/1] and supported by the Scottish Government.

We also acknowledge the support of Health Data Research UK and BREATHE - Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health.