What to know
- The MATernal and Infant Clinical Network (MAT-LINK) is a surveillance system.
- MAT-LINK monitors maternal, infant, and child health outcomes associated with medication for opioid use disorder during pregnancy.
- Learn more about MAT-LINK data available through the Research Data Center.
Background
The purpose of MAT-LINK is to improve understanding of the range of maternal, infant, and child health outcomes through age 6 years, and examine the possible effects on these outcomes from exposure to multiple substances and other risk factors.
Data and documentation
The data dictionary will be provided upon request. Please contact rdca@cdc.gov to receive the data dictionary as an attachment.
Proposal
Request access to restricted-use data by submitting a proposal through the NCHS RDC. Your proposal should thoroughly explain your research-related need for access to restricted-use variables, analytic plan, plan for reporting results, and the exact output needed for your near-final product (for example, paper, journal article, or presentation). All proposal sections must be filled out and clearly.
Submit your proposal as one document to rdca@cdc.gov.
Confidentiality and disclosure
After the proposal is approved, all members of your research team will be required to complete Confidentiality Training. Submit your Confidentiality Training certificate and signed, notarized nondisclosure affidavit to your RDC analyst along with the data-use agreement. For more information, see Confidentiality and Disclosure.
Additionally, these data are covered under an assurance of confidentiality. All members of your research team who will access the data are required to read the assurance of confidentiality statement and sign the form. The statement and form will be provided after the proposal is approved.
Review output for disclosure risk
All output submitted for a disclosure review must be the near-final product, and it must match the output described in your approved proposal. NCHS will not review frequency distributions or other large volumes of output. For more information, see Output Policies and Procedures.
Approved projects – next steps
The RDC Approved Projects – You should first discuss next steps with your RDC analyst. You will discuss the remaining process, with the following exception:
- Data set creation—The variables listed in the data dictionary included in your proposal will be extracted from the data files to create the analytic data set you will access to conduct your research.
Always discuss next steps with your RDC analyst.