Trauma Quality Programs Participant Use File

The ACS Trauma Quality Programs (TQP) releases an annual research dataset called the TQP Participant Use File (PUF). The TQP PUF contains all records submitted by our participating trauma centers for specified admission years. This includes data submitted for pediatric and adult trauma patients from Level I, II, II, IV, V or undesignated trauma centers. This dataset is best suited for quantitative analysis of collected data.

The TQP PUF is a set of relational tables containing elements as defined by the National Trauma Data Standard (NTDS) for each respective admission year. It is strongly recommended that anyone using the TQP PUF consults the NTDS for each admission year involved in their research to ensure familiarity with data definitions and to understand how those definitions may have shifted across years.

Additionally, not all data elements collected using the NTDS are available in the TQP PUF. For a complete list of data elements available in each year of the TQP PUF, please review the TQP PUF User Manual found on the TQP PUF homepage.

Access to the TQP PUF is granted through our online data application located on the TQP PUF homepage. All applicants agree to the TQP PUF Data Use Agreement, complete the online data application, and receive approval from the ACS TQP before PUF access is granted.

You can expect to hear a decision regarding your application within 15-20 business days of a submitted application.

The TQP PUF costs $1,000 per admission year of data. If your TQP PUF application is approved, you will receive an email from our application system with instructions on how to pay for your requested data.

However, the PUF is free for researchers at trauma centers which participate in the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP). To receive this discount, please follow the instructions provided in the “Directions for Ordering” document found in the Resources section of the TQP PUF homepage. Please note that the TQIP participation discount is applied once your application is approved. Therefore, you will see an initial order balance when submitting your request for TQP PUF dataset(s).

There are no other discounts available for potential TQP PUF applicants.

Applicants should review the appropriate TQP PUF User Manuals and NTDS Data Dictionary to understand available data elements before submitting their application. Access to the TQP PUF is granted only after payment is received, however, sample structures of the TQP PUF are available for download and review on the TQP PUF homepage.

Inappropriate TQP PUF projects may include:

1. Making national estimates - The PUFs represent trauma center participation in our programs, and while that participation is broad, it isn’t necessarily representative of the national level.
2. Linking to external datasets - Probabilistically linking PUF data to external datasets is strictly prohibited as stated in the TQP PUF Data Use Agreement
3. Geographical analyses - Although collected by the NTDS, geographical variables such as State and Zip Code are not provided in the TQP PUF.
4. Seasonal differences - As the TQP PUF is a de-identified dataset under HIPAA, specific dates/times collected using the NTDS are not provided in the dataset. Instead, the ACS TQP provides calculated time-to variables directly in the dataset (e.g., Time to Hospital Procedure Start, Trauma Surgeon Arrival, VTE Prophylaxis, etc.).

Access to the TQP PUF is project-based, as stated in the TQP PUF Data Use Agreement completed during the application process. Therefore, each new study would require its own PUF application to be submitted and approved before any formal work can begin. Please be sure to select the “TQP Participant Use File – Repeated Use All Years” product when completing any TQP PUF re-use applications. This Repeated Use product is listed for researchers who already have the TQP PUF but are starting a new study utilizing these data, which is why the associated product has a $0 value. If you purchased the TQP PUF, you won’t have to pay for those years again if re-using the data.