Transitioning from paper‐based to electronic data capture of neuropsychological assessment: A HABS‐HD study

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe HABS‐HD study is an epidemiological study of aging in diverse populations and began transitioning from entirely paper‐based charting to electronic data capture (EDC) in 2018. As the study evolved, the team realized that neuropsychological testing, scoring, and quality review consumed many resources and much staff time. This abstract aims to describe how the HABS‐HD study moved from paper‐based capture of neuropsychological data to EDC with a small data team.MethodThe HABS‐HD staff recognized the time commitment for scoring and reviewing scores for the neuropsychological assessment, which created a delay between a participant completing the study and the research diagnosis. Senior research assistants worked with internal developers to create an EDC for the neuropsychological assessment. The data core is small and consists of a director, an assistant director, two developers, two data entry personnel, and a clinician. Specific components were completed on paper to prevent an increase in equipment cost and maintain methodological consistency. These components were reviewed post‐assessment, and a senior research assistant directly entered the scores into the EDC.ResultThe EDC neuropsychological assessment was tested before going live. The team adapted data capture from the older method into the EDC. The new system allows the research director to obtain statistics of individual testers and provide more training as needed. It also permits more senior personnel to review the paper components and enter them directly into the EDC, which improves throughput.ConclusionSmaller data core teams can transition larger projects from paper methods to EDC. The change does not need to be entirely paper or electronic, but investigators should evaluate which methodologies function best for their populations. Finally, communication between the personnel capturing the data, reviewing the quality of the capture, and writing the EDC software is essential.