Insights Into Conducting Audiological Research With Clinical Databases

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Clinical Research
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Electronic health records (EHRs) contain extensive clinical data.
• These data present unique opportunities for audiological research.
• A large clinical database exceeding 730,000 cases was utilized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To share insights from working with a large EHR database for audiological research.
• To outline a framework for using patient data from care to researcher access.
• To identify and address challenges in EHR data utilization for research.

Main Methods:

• Developed a framework detailing the process from patient care to researcher data use.
• Described potential issues at each step of the data handling process.
• Shared strategies for overcoming specific data challenges within the dataset.

Main Results:

• Understanding data source and structure is crucial for accurate interpretation of findings.
• Efforts to establish data confidence through defined processes were discussed.
• The study highlights the practical application of the framework in a large dataset.

Conclusions:

• Electronic health records (EHRs) possess significant utility for audiological research.
• Researchers must exercise caution and thorough consideration when utilizing EHR data.
• Best practices for data management and interpretation are essential for reliable research outcomes.