Maré Irma Adele, Kramer Beverley, Hazelhurst Scott, Nhlapho Mapule Dorcus, Zent Roy, Harris Paul A, Klipin Michael
Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Division of Biomedical Informatics and Translational Science, Wits Health Consortium, Johannesburg, South Africa.
JMIR Med Inform. 2022 Aug 30;10(8):e33402. doi: 10.2196/33402.
Electronic data capture (EDC) in academic health care organizations provides an opportunity for the management, aggregation, and secondary use of research and clinical data. It is especially important in resource-constrained environments such as the South African public health care sector, where paper records are still the main form of clinical record keeping.
The aim of this study was to describe the strategies followed by the University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Health Sciences (Wits FHS) during the period from 2013 to 2021 to overcome resistance to, and encourage the adoption of, the REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture; Vanderbilt University) system by academic and clinical staff. REDCap has found wide use in varying domains, including clinical studies and research projects as well as administrative, financial, and human resource applications. Given REDCap's global footprint in >5000 institutions worldwide and potential for future growth, the strategies followed by the Wits FHS to support users and encourage adoption may be of importance to others using the system, particularly in resource-constrained settings.
The strategies to support users and encourage adoption included top-down organizational support; secure and reliable application, hosting infrastructure, and systems administration; an enabling and accessible REDCap support team; regular hands-on training workshops covering REDCap project setup and data collection instrument design techniques; annual local symposia to promote networking and awareness of all the latest software features and best practices for using them; participation in REDCap Consortium activities; and regular and ongoing mentorship from members of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
During the period from 2013 to 2021, the use of the REDCap EDC system by individuals at the Wits FHS increased, respectively, from 129 active user accounts to 3447 active user accounts. The number of REDCap projects increased from 149 in 2013 to 12,865 in 2021. REDCap at Wits also supported various publications and research outputs, including journal articles and postgraduate monographs. As of 2020, a total of 233 journal articles and 87 postgraduate monographs acknowledged the use of the Wits REDCap system.
By providing reliable infrastructure and accessible support resources, we were able to successfully implement and grow the REDCap EDC system at the Wits FHS and its associated academic medical centers. We believe that the increase in the use of REDCap was driven by offering a dependable, secure service with a strong end-user training and support model. This model may be applied by other academic and health care organizations in resource-constrained environments planning to implement EDC technology.
学术医疗保健机构中的电子数据采集（EDC）为研究和临床数据的管理、汇总及二次利用提供了契机。在资源有限的环境中，如南非公共医疗保健部门，纸质记录仍是临床记录保存的主要形式，这一点尤为重要。
本研究旨在描述威特沃特斯兰德大学健康科学学院（Wits FHS）在2013年至2021年期间为克服学术和临床工作人员对REDCap（研究电子数据采集；范德比尔特大学）系统的抵触情绪并鼓励其采用而采取的策略。REDCap已在包括临床研究和科研项目以及行政、财务和人力资源应用等不同领域得到广泛应用。鉴于REDCap在全球5000多家机构中的广泛应用及其未来增长潜力，Wits FHS为支持用户并鼓励采用该系统所采取的策略可能对其他使用该系统的机构很重要，尤其是在资源有限的环境中。
支持用户并鼓励采用的策略包括自上而下的组织支持；安全可靠的应用程序、托管基础设施和系统管理；一个高效且便于联系的REDCap支持团队；定期举办涵盖REDCap项目设置和数据收集工具设计技术的实践培训研讨会；每年举办本地研讨会以促进交流并提高对所有最新软件功能及其最佳使用方法的认识；参与REDCap联盟活动；以及范德比尔特大学医学中心成员提供定期且持续的指导。
在2013年至2021年期间，Wits FHS的个人对REDCap EDC系统的使用量分别从129个活跃用户账户增加到3447个活跃用户账户。REDCap项目的数量从2013年的149个增加到2021年的12865个。Wits的REDCap还支持了各种出版物和研究成果，包括期刊文章和研究生专著。截至2020年，共有233篇期刊文章和87本研究生专著认可使用了Wits的REDCap系统。
通过提供可靠的基础设施和便于获取的支持资源，我们得以在Wits FHS及其相关学术医疗中心成功实施并推广REDCap EDC系统。我们认为，REDCap使用量的增加是由于提供了可靠、安全的服务以及强大的最终用户培训和支持模式。这种模式可能可供其他计划在资源有限环境中实施EDC技术的学术和医疗保健机构应用。
