TY - JOUR
T1 - Building Research Infrastructure
T2 - The Development of a Technical Assistance Group-Service Center at an RCMI
AU - Lininger, Monica R.
AU - Kirby, Christine
AU - Laurila, Kelly A.
AU - Roy, Indrakshi
AU - Coder, Marcelle
AU - Propper, Catherine R.
AU - Trotter, Robert T.
AU - Baldwin, Julie A.
N1 - Funding Information: As a data repository, REDCap has several automatic settings to provide data security, accuracy, and clarity. Some security settings (when implementing certain types of projects, like longitudinal studies) prevent certain types of database editing (i.e., Record ID numbering preferences). This can limit how the TAG-SC database is archived, stored, and utilized by various cores. For instance, grant and academic years do not align, creating overlapping datasets in archiving work for TAG-SC specialists, program evaluation, NIH Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) reporting, and financial record keeping. Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Institute for Minority Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) grant, Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative at Northern Arizona University (U54MD012388). Funding Information: In September 2016, the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) [] was formally established to collaborate with communities to build foundations and environments that support health and wellbeing in the Southwest United States. CHER houses the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC) [], which was funded (U54MD012388) in 2017 via the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) [] through the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program []. The goals of the RCMI Program Specialized Centers [] include: (1) fostering environments conducive to career enhancement with a particular emphasis on the development of new and early career investigators; (2) enhancing the quality of all scientific inquiry and promoting research on minority health and health disparities; and (3) enhancing institutional research capacity within the areas of basic Biomedical, Behavioral, and/or Clinical research. The RCMI program was created in 1985 and has significantly increased knowledge related to health disparities science while simultaneously expanding the diversity of biomedical research []. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2023/1
Y1 - 2023/1
N2 - As one of the Research Centers for Minority Institutions (RCMI), the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC) worked over the first five-year period of funding to foster the advancement of Early Stage Investigators, enhance the quality of health disparities research, and increase institution research capacity in basic Biomedical, Behavioral, and/or Clinical research; all priorities of RCMIs. In year 4, the Technical Assistance Group-Service Center (TAG-SC) was created to help achieve these goals. The TAG-SC provides one-on-one investigator project development support, including research design, data capture, and analysis. Successful implementation of the TAG-SC was tracked using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), a secure, web-based software platform allowing for immediate tracking and evaluation processes. In the first two years, 86 tickets were submitted through the REDCap system for methodological support by TAG-SC experts (faculty and staff) for assistance with health-equity related research, primarily SHERC and externally funded Social/Behavioral research projects. The TAG-SC increased the research capacity for investigators, especially within the SHERC. In this manuscript, we describe the methods used to create the TAG-SC and the REDCap tracking system and lessons learned, which can help other RCMIs interested in creating a similar service center offering an innovative way to build methodological infrastructure.
AB - As one of the Research Centers for Minority Institutions (RCMI), the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC) worked over the first five-year period of funding to foster the advancement of Early Stage Investigators, enhance the quality of health disparities research, and increase institution research capacity in basic Biomedical, Behavioral, and/or Clinical research; all priorities of RCMIs. In year 4, the Technical Assistance Group-Service Center (TAG-SC) was created to help achieve these goals. The TAG-SC provides one-on-one investigator project development support, including research design, data capture, and analysis. Successful implementation of the TAG-SC was tracked using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), a secure, web-based software platform allowing for immediate tracking and evaluation processes. In the first two years, 86 tickets were submitted through the REDCap system for methodological support by TAG-SC experts (faculty and staff) for assistance with health-equity related research, primarily SHERC and externally funded Social/Behavioral research projects. The TAG-SC increased the research capacity for investigators, especially within the SHERC. In this manuscript, we describe the methods used to create the TAG-SC and the REDCap tracking system and lessons learned, which can help other RCMIs interested in creating a similar service center offering an innovative way to build methodological infrastructure.
KW - REDCap
KW - behavioral and social sciences
KW - early stage investigator
KW - methodological support
KW - research infrastructure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145968476&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85145968476&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010191
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010191
M3 - Article
C2 - 36612513
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 20
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 1
M1 - 191
ER -