The works package explores existing clinical research software applications available for use by researchers in different areas. This work package will identify different features of the clinical software that could be useful for new researchers who are looking for a data management system to use.
Due to availability of large number of data collection and clinical data management systems, the decision as to which system to adopt become very challenging especially because of limited experience using these systems. This is further compounded by the complex matrix of research specific needs and characteristics versus the system features which vary from one system to another.
In this work package therefore, we are identifying the existing systems, their features, costs, pros and cons with regards to specific research needs and will develop a scoring matrix which will be used to identify a set of systems which will be best suited for use by researchers based on their unique requirements.
Workpackage
The system landscape currently exists of tens of software applications being used in different research organizations (both in clinical and academic setups) across the world. The researchers therefore have many systems to choose from whenever a study is being set-up. This exercise is always an uphill task especially for new researcher or for those who intend to change their data management tools for better ones.
A number of factors will have to be considered before a decision is reached on which system to employ. These include;
- Regulatory requirements which sets minimum standards for systems to use for clinical trials.
- Total cost of ownership of the system visa vie the resources available to own the systems.
- Research setup and existing infrastructure versus features available in system to work in such setups.
As a result of these, we realized the need to develop a system assessment tool which can simplify decision making for selecting which system to use in data management by scoring different system parameters against researchers specific requirements.
Recommendations from the group
Following the presentation of Systems Landscape in the last ADMIT workshop, a number of recommendations and suggestions were brought forth by ADMIT members. As we continue developing the systems assessment tool, we hope that these will help us come up with the best tool. These recommendations include;
Generate a scoring matrix and make available for members to provide score for different systems.
Future work
This work package is open for contributions from ADMIT members and their participation will be needed after the scoring matrix is developed. An online scoring matrix link will be circulated and the response used to develop the decision tree tool.
The decision tree tool will then be validated before it is built into a web page on this website for use by the researchers.
Wp Leads
Name : Clemens Masesa1, Michael Otieno 2
Affiliation : 1Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust, 2 Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative
Contact : cpmasesa [@] mlw.medcol.mw, mochieng [@] dndi.org