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Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/ 2017 This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background

Governments, universities and pan-African research networks are building durable infrastructure and capabilities for biomedical research in Africa. This offers the opportunity to adopt from the outset innovative approaches and technologies that would be challenging to retrofit into fully established research infrastructures such as those regularly found in high-income countries. In this context we piloted the use of a novel mobile digital health platform, designed specifically for low-resource environments, to support high-quality data collection in a clinical research study.

Objective

Our primary aim was to assess the feasibility of a using a mobile digital platform for clinical trial data collection in a low-resource setting. Secondarily, we sought to explore the potential benefits of such an approach.

Methods

The investigative site was a research institute in Nairobi, Kenya. We integrated an open-source platform for mobile data collection commonly used in the developing world with an open-source, standard platform for electronic data capture in clinical trials. The integration was developed using common data standards (Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) Operational Data Model), maximising the potential to extend the approach to other platforms. The system was deployed in a pharmacokinetic study involving healthy human volunteers.

Results

The electronic data collection platform successfully supported conduct of the study. Multidisciplinary users reported high levels of satisfaction with the mobile application and highlighted substantial advantages when compared with traditional paper record systems. The new system also demonstrated a potential for expediting data quality review.

Discussion and Conclusions

This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of using a mobile digital platform for clinical research data collection in low-resource settings. Sustainable scientific capabilities and infrastructure are essential to attract and support clinical research studies. Since many research structures in Africa are being developed anew, stakeholders should consider implementing innovative technologies and approaches.

Details

Title
Open-source mobile digital platform for clinical trial data collection in low-resource settings
Author
Joris van Dam 1 ; Onyango, Kevin Omondi 2 ; Midamba, Brian 2 ; Groosman, Nele 3 ; Hooper, Norman 3 ; Spector, Jonathan 1 ; Goonaseelan (Colin) Pillai 4 ; Ogutu, Bernhards 2 

 Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research Inc, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 
 Kenya Medical Research Institutes and Center for Research in Therapeutic Sciences Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya 
 Dimagi, Cape Town, South Africa 
 Novartis AG, Basel, Switzerland 
First page
26
Section
Health IT, systems and process innovations
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Feb 2017
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
ISSN
20558074
e-ISSN
2055642X
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2132838258
Copyright
Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/ 2017 This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.