Using NHIS data from abroad¶
Korean researchers abroad can use the NHIS data, but only while they are physically in Korea. Everything before the analysis, from the IRB approval to the application and its review, can be done online from abroad. A project can therefore be prepared abroad and carried out over short, periodic visits to Korea, which suits PhD students at universities abroad in particular. This post collects what researchers abroad should know before they apply, and the Applying for data and Using the data pages give the details of each step.
What can be done from abroad¶
The application can be completed entirely online, while every stage that touches the data requires a stay in Korea.
| Stage | From abroad |
|---|---|
| IRB approval | Yes, from the public institutional review board if the approval of one's own institution is not in Korean |
| Application and review | Yes, online on the portal |
| Identity verification (본인인증) | Yes, with a Korean mobile phone number and an ID |
| Extraction of a customized DB (연구자 추출) | No, on an NHIS computer in Wonju or Seoul |
| Analysis of a sample database | No, since the VPN connection works only within Korea |
| Analysis of a customized DB | No, only at an NHIS analysis center |
A Korean phone number for every login¶
Every login to the NHISS portal requires identity verification (본인인증), including logins from abroad. The verification goes through one of the identity verification services used across Korean websites, and these need a valid Korean mobile phone number and an ID. I usually verify with Naver (네이버 인증서), though other services are offered as well. A researcher abroad should therefore keep a Korean number active for the whole project. The same verification is needed to submit an application, because every registered researcher must verify their identity by mobile phone and email, and this is repeated for each application. Every researcher added to the project must therefore be able to complete it.
IRB approval in Korean¶
An IRB approval from an institution abroad is usually not enough, because the NHIS accepts IRB documents only in Korean. The research summary and the IRB protocol attached to the application should both be written in Korean, and an application with an English protocol has been rejected. An approval from the researcher's own institution abroad is not accepted when its documents are not in Korean. In that case, the researcher should obtain approval from the public institutional review board (공용기관생명윤리위원회) at public.irb.or.kr. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (보건복지부) designates this board, and the Korea National Institute for Bioethics Policy (국가생명윤리정책원) runs it.
The title, the principal investigator, and the study on the application must match the IRB documents. Writing the research summary and the IRB protocol together therefore saves a second round of edits, as described under step 2 of the application.
Academic research or thesis¶
The research type chosen in the first step of the application decides who can be principal investigator, which matters most for students. Academic research (학술연구) requires a Korean researcher as principal investigator, and a student cannot take that role. A student who applies under this type therefore needs a Korean researcher to lead the project.
The thesis type (학위논문) instead lets the student register as principal investigator, and it requires a consent form signed by the advisor. The advisor only signs this form and does not need to register on the project, which spares an advisor abroad the identity verification. The NHIS guide to new applications also asks for a certificate of enrollment issued within three months of the application, as listed under step 1.
In my experience, thesis projects get lower priority in data construction (자료구축), so the wait between approval and access to the data can be long. This is not an official rule, only what I have observed, but a student with a fixed timeline should leave extra time between the application and the planned analysis.
Working with the data in Korea¶
Once the data are ready, every route to them runs through a computer in Korea, whichever database the project uses. The sample databases, including the National Sample Cohort (표본코호트DB), are reached over a VPN connection from the researcher's own computer, but the connection works only from within Korea.
A customized DB requires a stay in Korea twice, first to build the extract and then to analyze it. The researcher builds the extract on an NHIS computer in Wonju or Seoul. First-time extractors work in Wonju and attend training on the first day, while Seoul is open only to researchers who have extracted before. The analysis then takes place only at one of the NHIS analysis centers, where seats are reserved on the portal from 9:00 Korea time two weeks before the day of use. Some of the centers at universities and hospitals admit only their own researchers.
Planning the visits¶
Short visits work best when the period of use and the files needed are arranged before the trip. The fee is charged for the length of the period of use (사용기간), not for the days spent on the data, so the period should be set around the planned visits. The period chosen on the application can be reset when the fee notice is issued, and the fee schedule gives the cost of each length. The fee is also reduced by 80 percent for a thesis and by 50 percent for academic research, so a month of a customized DB costs a thesis project 140,000 won instead of 700,000 won.
Files enter the virtual research room only through an import request (자료반입신청), which should be made before the session that needs them. Code written abroad against the variable lists on this site can then be brought in before the visit begins. Results leave the room only through an export request that passes the export review (반출 심사), so the tables and figures to export are worth planning before the visit as well.