The role of administrative record linkage in creating trajectories of early human development.

Early childhood development (ECD) is a significant social determinant of health. Monitoring ECD to reveal trends and patterns of development requires high-quality information on a population from infancy through adulthood. This study linked data from the Early Development Instrument (EDI), administered in senior kindergarten, with data from the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA), graduation status and SES to show that Vancouver schools with poor FSA results also had high proportions of children with low EDI and SES scores. Linking EDI data to data on pregnancy, birth, medical history, hospital care and success in school would enable the creation of normative EDC trajectories for all children. A person-specific, anonymized, population-based record linkage system is an indispensable prerequisite for creating and monitoring developmental trajectories.