Digital Health Core

Medical University Of South Carolina, Charleston SC

Investigators

Abstract

Modified Project Summary/Abstract Section Trauma-affected and underserved populations often encounter numerous barriers to care. Digital health is not a panacea but offers high potential to improve access, quality, and health outcome variations in care. The South Carolina Building Resilience through innovative Interventions to promote Growth & Health after Trauma (BRIGHT) COBRE Digital Health (DH) Core will provide expert consultation, training, and support to Research Project Leaders (RPLs) and other traumatic stress investigators in conceptualization, development, measurement, testing, implementation, and dissemination of digital health interventions. A range of training opportunities, services, and resources will be offered to investigators. The DH Core will leverage existing resources including Technology Applications Center for Healthful Lifestyles (TACHL), Biomedical Informatics Center (BMIC), and South Carolina Translational Research Institute (SCTR; MUSC’s CTSA). TACHL, directed by Dr. Ruggiero (DH Core leader), that has supported the growth of numerous early-stage investigators who have aimed to improve access, quality, and/or health outcome variations of care via digital health innovations, primarily in the traumatic stress field. BMIC, directed by Dr. Lenert (Core co-leader), has led development and installation of many research infrastructural systems and has a dedicated team of informatics experts, software engineers, and healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) research and development experts. SCTR provides research resources and activities spanning all stages of translational research from discovery to implementation. These resources will be expanded under the BRIGHT DH Core, which will provide expertise, consultation, and resources to RPLs to support needs assessments, end-user concept development, digital health design, wireframing, technical development, usability and feasibility testing, qualitative and quantitative data collection to inform implementation, clinical trials planning, and grant preparation for digital health studies. The Core also will help BRIGHT investigators leverage AI in response frameworks for custom tailoring of digital health interventions and will provide access to and training in MUSC’s no-code mobile application-development platform. To sustain professional development, the DH Core also will establish a community of practice to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing and to accelerate innovation via training and networking activities. The DH Core will accomplish its goals through the following Aims: (1) provide consultation and resources to RPLs and other investigators to support design, development, scientific testing, implementation, and dissemination of digital health innovations; (2) educate and train RPLs and other investigators in the state of the science and best practices in digital health research, which will be achieved, using webinars, workshops, forums, networking activities, and growth of a community of practice; and (3) maintain state-of-the-art knowledge, capabilities, and business operations for newly developed resources to position the core for long-term growth and sustainability.