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VA REDCap 101: Overview for VA Researchers

Bonnie Paris, PhD

Data Knowledge Analyst & VA REDCap Project Manager

VA Information Resource Center (VIReC)

03/05/2018

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

Session Objectives

• What is VA REDCap?

• Benefits

• Limitations

• What can VA REDCap do?

• Basic & Advanced features

• Example VA REDCap Projects

• What resources are available?

• Training

• Support

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

What is REDCap?

• Secure web application for research data collection

developed by Vanderbilt University with NIH funding

• Primary data collection tool supports compliance with:

• 21 CFR Part 11

• FISMA

• HIPAA

• Used world-wide

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

VA REDCap Benefits

• Available for free to all VA employees (including WOC

appointments)

• Centrally managed by VIReC

• Hosted by VINCI

• Provides researchers with a flexible primary data

collection tool

• Easy to get started

• No programming experience required

• Many advanced features available

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

VA REDCap Limitations

• VA Intranet Only

• Survey respondents must be logged

into an active VA network account to

respond to a VA REDCap survey

• Not approved for storage of

Personally Identifiable Information

(PII) or Protected Health

Information (PHI).

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2018 Pilot Production

0 users 30 users 600 users 2004 users 2224 users

2010-2013 Need

2014 Beta Test

2015 Pilot expansion, priority to QUERI researchers

2016 Pilot expansion continues

2017 Pilot expansion continues

Supporting Primary Data Collection:

VA REDCap Growth

identified

2316 active users

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Poll Question #1

I am interested in VA data primarily due to my role as:

a. Principal investigator/Co-PI

b. Research staff (Project coordinator, data manager,

programmer)

c. Clinical Staff

d. Operations Staff

e. Other—Please describe via the Q & A function

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317

63 138

10

801

405

190

34

1142

710

312

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0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

VA REDCap Project Growth

Research Quality Operational Other Improvement Support

16-Mar 17-Apr 18-Feb

Source: VA REDCap System Statistics. Excludes “practice” projects. 3/2018

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127

624

16

81

261

105

55

96

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Number of Research Projects by Subcategory

Basic or bench research

Clinical research study or trial

Translational research type 1

Behavioral or psychosocial research

Epidemiology

Repository

Other

Translational research type 2

Source: VA REDCap System Statistics. Excludes “practice” projects. 3/2018

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

What can VA REDCap do?

• Build online surveys and databases quickly

• Multiple templates to get you started

• Ability to copy your projects.

• Save your data collection instruments as a PDF to print

• Share your project with your team

• Control permission to data by user and project

• Track changes to your project instruments and data

• Export data to common data analysis packages

• Includes: Microsoft Excel, SAS, Stata, R, and SPSS

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

What are the basic steps to creating a project?

• Main project settings

• Design your data collection instruments

• Enable optional modules and customizations

• Set up project bookmarks (optional)

• User Rights and Permissions

• Test your project thoroughly

• Move your project to production status

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

Some more advanced REDCap Features

• Longitudinal data collection

• Automated survey invitations

• Randomization

• Auto-validation

• Branching/skip logic

• “Piping” in data to customize question labels, survey

invitation emails, etc.

• & Much More!....

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Poll Question #2

How would you rate your knowledge of VA REDCap?

a. 1 (No knowledge)

b. 2

c. 3

d. 4

e. 5 (Expert)

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

Example Project 1

• Swallow STRengthening OropharyNGeal

(Swallow STRONG) Clinical Demonstration Project

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Swallow STRengthening OropharyNGeal

(Swallow STRONG) Clinical Demonstration Project

• 2012-2013

• JoAnne Robbins, PhD at the William S. Middleton Memorial

Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI initiates a clinical demonstration

project

• 2016

• Study results published in Journal of the American Geriatrics

Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13933

• “Findings suggest that the Swallow STRONG multidisciplinary

oropharyngeal strengthening program may be an effective

treatment for older adults with dysphagia.” (Rogus-Pulia et al)

Sources:

http://www.swallowsolutions.com/product-information/swallowstrong-device

https://dysphagiacafe.wordpress.com/tag/nicole-pulia/

https://www.medicine.wisc.edu/geriatrics/research

http://www.swallowsolutions.com/news/18-madison-va-hospital-funded-to-start-swallow-strong-clinic

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Swallow STRengthening OropharyNGeal

(Swallow STRONG) Clinical Demonstration Project

• 2017

• Nicole Rogus-Pulia, PhD, CCC-SLP, directs the multi-site Veteran

Health Administration’s (VHA) Swallow STRONG clinical program

• 8 sites

• 4 study arms

• Longitudinal data collection

• VA REDCap used to support data collection

Sources:

http://www.swallowsolutions.com/product-information/swallowstrong-device

https://dysphagiacafe.wordpress.com/tag/nicole-pulia/

https://www.medicine.wisc.edu/geriatrics/research 3/2018

http://www.swallowsolutions.com/news/18-madison-va-hospital-funded-to-start-swallow-strong-clinic

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

User Rights

• User Rights Role for • Study coordinator has

“Site Entry” allows data full rights

entry users to: • Project design

• Create Records • Assigning project rights

• Lock/Unlock Records • Exporting data

• Use the Calendar • Deleting records, etc.

• View the Logging record

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

Data Access Groups

• Restricts ability to see • Study coordinator can data by Site see all of the data • Cincinnati

• Gainesville

• Hines

• Jesse Brown

• Madison

• Minneapolis

• Seattle

• St Louis VA

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Longitudinal Data Collection

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Event 1: Swallow

STRONG

Protocol

2: IOPI

Protocol

3: EMST

Protocol

4: sEMG

Protocol

Week 1 X X X

Week 2 X X X X

Week 3 X X X

Week 4 X X X X

Week 5 X X X

Week 6 X X X

Week 7 X X

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Example: Follow-Up Visit/Call

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Arm 1

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Record Status Dashboard

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From the Follow-Up Visit/Call instrument

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From the Dietary Questionnaire instrument

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Branching Logic

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Show/Hide Questions based

on response to a prior

question

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

Example Project 2

• VA REDCap HelpDesk Ticket System

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How Do I Get A VA REDCap Account?

• Complete the VA REDCap Intake Form at:

https://vhacdwweb05.vha.med.va.gov/surveys/?s=W7Y9A

CRKKX (VA Intranet only)

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Once you click “Submit”

• Notification e-mail is sent to

VIReCREDCapSupport@va.gov

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Support Team View of Ticket

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Support Team Member:

• Updates ticket information

• Resolves customer issue

• Communicates with customer

• Tracks time and activity

• Enters date ticket is closed

• System automatically sends customer survey invitation

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Customer Receives Notification E-mails

• Automatic system message:

• VIReC REDCap Support welcome message:

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Completion Date Satisfaction Survey

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Completion Date Satisfaction Survey

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Automated Survey Invitations

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Customer receives survey invitation

The VA Information Resource Center (VIReC) recently provided you with

information related to VA REDCap.

Please take 30 seconds to answer 1 question and provide any comments about

your experience with the VIReC VA REDCap Helpdesk.

Your feedback will help us serve VA researchers better in the future.

You may open the survey in your web browser by clicking the link below:

Customer Service Questionnaire

If the link above does not work, try copying the link below into your web

browser:

https://vhacdwweb05.vha.med.va.gov/surveys/?s=b5krwVexampleRpHX

This link is unique to you and should not be forwarded to others.

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VA

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Feature Presentations

Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

• Periodic live Feature Presentations are archived for future

reference

• Example: March 16th, Mark Pabst, MPH, presented on

Administering Veteran Surveys Using VA REDCap on iPad Minis

• Schedule and Feature Presentation Archive are available at

https://vhacdwweb05.vha.med.va.gov/surveys/?s=83JAXH9P8P

3/2018

Date Topic Presenter(s) 3/29/2018 Using the Data Quality Module Linda Schiffer, MS,

MPH

4/26/2018 Using VA REDCap and University

REDCaps in Research

Bonnie Paris, PhD /

Linda Kok, MS

5/31/2018 How to Test & Troubleshoot Your

Project to Avoid Problems: The

Benefits of Production Mode

Peter Addy, PhD

6/28/2018 Using the Randomization

Module

Peter Addy, PhD

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Future FY18 Feature Presentations

Thursdays 3:00pm-4:00pm ET

Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

3/2018

Registration is not required.

Join us online at: http://va-eerc-

ees.adobeconnect.com/redcap/

Use your computer's

speakers and microphone or

dial into our VANTS line at

1-800-767-1750, Code

89026# for audio access.

Visit the VA REDCap

Feature Presentation Archive

for previous sessions: https://vhacdwweb05.vha.med.va

.gov/surveys/?s=83JAXH9P8P

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VA REDCap Resources for Beginners

• Visiting the VIReC VA REDCap Overview page at

http://vaww.virec.research.va.gov/REDCap/Overview.htm

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VA REDCap Resources for Beginners

• Watching video tutorials:

• Some of the functionality described, such as the REDCap Mobile

App, is not available for use at the VA.

• If you do not have access to VA REDCap yet, you may watch the

video tutorials on the Vanderbilt University website at

https://redcap.vanderbilt.edu/consortium/videos.php

VA

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

• Weekly Q&A with VA REDCap support team

• Thursdays from 3-4pm Eastern Time

• Attendees can use their computer's speakers and microphone or

dial into our VANTS line at 1-800-767-1750 Code 89026# for audio

access.

• Join us online at http://va-eerc-ees.adobeconnect.com/redcap/

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Benefits Limitations Features Example Projects

Training Support

Contact Us

• Submit a HelpDesk Ticket

• https://vhacdwweb05.vha.med.va.gov/surveys/?s

=W7Y9ACRKKX (VA Intranet only)

• Contact VA REDCap Support HelpDesk

• VIReCREDCapSupport@va.gov

• (708) 202-2413

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Session #6: VA Pharmacy Data

Database & Methods Cyberseminar Series

Bonnie Paris, PhD Walid Gellad, MD, MPH Data Knowledge Analyst CHERP Core Investigator

VA Information Resource Center Staff Physician, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System