Nursing Informatics and Epigenetics: Methodological Considerations for Big Data Analysis

Nursing informatics requires an understanding of patient-centered data and clinical workflow, and epigenetic research requires an understanding of data analysis. The purpose of this article is to document the methodology that nursing informatics specialists can use to conduct epigenetic research and subsequently strengthen patient-centered care. A pilot study of a secondary methylation data analysis using The Cancer Genome Atlas data from individuals with colon cancer is utilized to illustrate the methodology. The steps for conducting the study using public and free resources are discussed. These steps include finding a data source; downloading and analyzing differentially methylated regions; annotating differentially methylated region, gene ontology and function analysis; and reporting results. A model of epigenetic testing workflow is provided, as is a list of publicly available data and analysis sources that can be used to conduct epigenetic research.