Development of a Consumer Research Network for Studying Obesity

描述(申请人提供)：促进健康科学研究的消费者研究网络：这项建议的主要目标是开发和实施一个创新的消费者研究网络(CRN)，通过创建一个基于消费者的健康信息技术(HIT)基础设施，允许调查人员直接与个人消费者连接以参与研究，从而推动改善健康的科学研究。这一拟议的CRN基础设施将通过买方健康护理行动小组的雇主联盟利用基于安全网络的个人健康记录(PHR)的广泛网络，这些雇主正在实施个人健康记录(PHR)，覆盖60多万名员工和家属。PHR将通过明尼苏达州健康信息交换系统填充医疗记录，其中包括超过90%的明尼苏达州人口的健康数据。这一开创性的努力将是美国第一个利用以消费者为基础的HIT网络来提高研究能力的开创性努力，方法是增加对大量不同人群的接触，为大规模流行病学和遗传学研究提供支持。它还可以降低临床、表观遗传学和公共卫生研究的成本，并支持以消费者为中心的医疗保健提供。这项研究有两个具体目的：1)通过连接个人健康记录网络，为消费者研究网络发展信息基础设施；2)在CRN中同意的消费人群中，对以消费者为基础的体重管理和肥胖预防策略进行比较有效的研究。 公共卫生相关性：这项提案的主要目标是开发和实施一个创新的消费者研究网络(CRN)，通过创建一个基于消费者的健康信息技术(HIT)基础设施，允许调查人员直接与个别消费者联系以参与研究，从而推动改善健康的科学研究。CRN基础设施将通过买方健康护理行动小组的全国雇主联盟利用基于安全网络的个人健康记录(PHR)的广泛网络，这些雇主正在实施个人健康记录(PHR)，覆盖60多万名员工和家属。在这项研究中，将开发基础设施，并利用其进行研究，与消费者一起研究消费者体重管理和肥胖预防策略的比较有效性。这一开创性的努力将是美国第一个利用以消费者为基础的HIT网络来提高研究能力的开创性努力，方法是增加对大量不同人群的接触，为大规模流行病学和遗传学研究提供支持。它还可以降低临床、表观遗传学和公共卫生研究的成本，并支持以消费者为中心的医疗保健提供。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Consumer Research Network to Facilitate Research in the Science of Health: The primary goal of this proposal is to develop and implement an innovative consumer research network (CRN) that can advance the research in the science of improving health by creating a consumer based health information technology (HIT) infrastructure that allows investigators to connect directly with individual consumers to participate in research. This proposed CRN infrastructure will leverage an extensive network of secure web based personal health records (PHRs) through an alliance of employers of the Buyers Health Care Action Group who are implementing Personal Health Records (PHRs) to cover more than 600,000 employees and dependents. The PHRs will be populated with medical records through the Minnesota Health Information Exchange include health data for over 90% of the Minnesota population. This ground breaking effort will be the first of its kind in the United States to use a consumer based HIT network to improve research capabilities by increasing access to large diverse populations to power large epidemiological and genetic studies. It can also reduce the cost of clinical, epigenetic, and public health research as well as support consumer centric health care delivery. The study has two specific aims: 1) Develop the informatics infrastructure for the Consumer Research Network by linking the network of personal health records; 2) Conduct a comparative effective study of consumer based strategies for weight management and obesity prevention in the consenting consumer population who are in the CRN. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The primary goal of this proposal is to develop and implement an innovative consumer research network (CRN) that can advance the research in the science of improving health by creating a consumer based health information technology (HIT) infrastructure that allows investigators to connect directly with individual consumers to participate in research. The CRN infrastructure will leverage an extensive network of secure web based personal health records (PHRs) through an alliance of national employers of the Buyers Health Care Action Group who are implementing Personal Health Records (PHRs) to cover more than 600,000 employees and dependents. In this study, the infrastructure will be developed and the utility of it to conduct research will be used with consumers in a study of comparative effectiveness of consumer strategies for weight management and obesity prevention. This ground breaking effort will be the first of its kind in the United States to use a consumer based HIT network to improve research capabilities by increasing access to large diverse populations to power large epidemiological and genetic studies. It can also reduce the cost of clinical, epigenetic, and public health research as well as support consumer centric health care delivery.