We propose to develop a web-based system to collect, manage and analyze data obtained from health surveys which are routinely used as part of outcome measures for research and clinical studies. The proposed program will allow researchers and clinicians to collect health survey data online, perform sophisticated data analysis without needing statistical software on their own computers, provide a report on the methods used and results obtained, giving users unparalleled access to data and statistics of these outcome measures. The program will provide HIPAA-compliant data management, file management, data entry, data quality assurance, and statistical analysis with health research projects. This web-based tool has many advantages over the traditional paper-recorded method. The benefits include eliminating data collection errors, eliminating data scoring errors, providing automatic, on-the-fly statistical analysis, and increasing researcher productivity by reducing the redundancy associated with re-recording, transforming, and performing statistical analysis on survey-related data sets.

 

The goal of the proposed Online Health Survey and Statistical Analysis System (OHSSAS) is to develop a new innovative web-based program that brings powerful data collection and analysis capabilities into the hands of the clinicians and researchers at the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH). The objectives in the development of this online, computer-based health survey program include:

1.) Data Collection

•  Standard Surveys

The program will provide electronic data collection for 14 health assessment surveys which are commonly used to evaluate patient health. The surveys will measure the areas of physical ability and emotional health. Physical ability surveys will measure stroke, spinal cord injury impairment or other neurological impairment. In addition, surveys which measure mental state capacities e.g., depression and cognitive status will also be available.

•  User-defined Surveys

In addition to the standard surveys, the program will include the ability to create user-defined surveys to give the clinician/researcher the flexibility to develop questionnaires they deem appropriate.

2.) Data Analysis

The program will provide automatic, on-going statistical analysis. After the data is entered for each subject the program will automatically calculate the statistics on the entire database. Standard univariate and bivariate statistics will be used to evaluate the data and provide statistical comparisons of outcome measures. The program will consist of two paths for the statistical analysis of the data maintained on the site: guided analysis and user-defined analysis. The guided analysis will allow the program to choose the statistical procedures for the novice user while the user-defined analysis will allow knowledgeable and experienced users to select the type of statistical analysis they wish to perform on selected variables.

3.) Report Generation

The program will automatically generate two types of reports based on user-defined settings.

•  Data collection statistics. A set of summary statistics displaying the progress of the data collection process will be calculated. These statistics will include the number of subjects to date as well as the overall statistical significance of the particular variables of interest to the user. Since the statistical significance of the study can be evaluated as the study progresses, the study can be conducted on the smallest (optimal) number of subjects thereby providing a very cost-effective study.

•  Individual survey statistics. Reports can be generated containing all of the statistical outcomes for each of the individual surveys.

4.) HIPAA-compliant Data Management

Although the program will not collect any personal identifying information (the data records will only be accessed by participant number), we will restrict access to both the program and database and maintain safe electronic access, storage, and transmission of data. Once the data is entered, access will be allowed only to a person with administrative privileges.