The Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program Data Harmonization: Rationale for Data Elements and Standards

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Musculoskeletal Research
• Data Science

Background:

• Chronic low back pain research involves multiple, decentralized programs.
• Integrating diverse data from these programs is challenging.
• A unified approach is needed to develop comprehensive models of chronic low back pain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an integrated model of chronic low back pain (CLBP).
• To describe efforts in data harmonization and accessibility for consortium-wide analyses.
• To establish standards for data collection and integration across research programs.

Main Methods:

• Established consortium-wide working groups for harmonized data elements and standards.
• Developed the BACPAC Data Portal for research collaboration and data sharing.
• Created a modified data standard based on CDISC Study Data Tabulation Model for data integration.

Main Results:

• Harmonized data elements and standards were established for tabular and non-tabular data (imaging, omics).
• The BACPAC Minimum Dataset and domain-specific measures were defined.
• A secure, cloud-based data portal was developed for data repository and analysis.

Conclusions:

• BACPAC's harmonization efforts and data standards provide an innovative model for data integration.
• This framework can be adopted by other consortia with multiple, decentralized research programs.
• Facilitates comprehensive analysis of chronic low back pain data.