A report on the current state of the digital health ecosystem at UNC Chapel Hill and the needs of researchers who are exploring digital health research opportunities. This needs assessment was performed by the Carolina Digital Health Research Initiative (CaDHRI).

1. Digital Health
at
UNC - Chapel Hill
Needs Assessment Report, July 2016
Carolina Digital Health Research Initiative

2. Carolina Digital Health Research
Initiative (CaDHRI)
Promotes and enables the use of digital health
solutions to solve pressing patient-centered health
problems, and builds a more connected digital
health research community
A partnership of the UNC Health
Sciences Library and School of
Medicine
http://digitalhealth.web.unc.edu/

3. Report on
UNC digital health research
This report describes the current use of digital health
among health care researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill
This report:
 Helps to guide CaDHRI’s activities, vision, and outreach
 Contributes to the promotion and use of digital health
solutions in healthcare research
 Brings together a larger community of digital health
researchers

4. What is digital health?
Wireless health
and connected
health solutions
Wearable
devices, mHealth
(mobile health
applications), and
gamification
Sensors, digital
medical devices,
and self-tracking
systems
Use of personal
health records,
electronic
medical records,
and big data in
healthcare
Personalized
medicine and
e-patients
(electronically
engaged
patients)

5. Digital health research at
UNC-Chapel Hill
Survey respondents:
 60% have conducted digital health research
 40% have not conducted digital health research

6. The majority of digital health
researchers have used:
Mobile
health
applications
Online
platforms
Wearable
activity
trackers

7. A minority of digital health
researchers have used:
Video
software
programs
Digital
scales
Remote
monitoring
& other
devices

8. Varied focus of digital health
researchers’ research
Cancer
control
Irritable bowel
syndrome
Weight control
and obesity
Rehabilitation
engineering
Asthma Patient
reported
outcomes
Clinic and
administrative
workflows
Sexual health
risk reduction

9. Additional knowledge about
digital health is needed

10. Feedback from non-digital
health researchers
Theoretical interest in using digital health solutions
Want to learn more about digital health before
moving forward with planning research
Interested in learning more about:
Available and applicable digital health devices
Programming
Building mobile applications
Data mining

11. High interest in digital health

12. Which digital health component(s) would you be
interested in using, if you were to start using digital
health solutions in your research?

13. Resources for
digital health research
Devices Access to cost effective software and devices
Knowledge of digital health technologies
Access to digital health devices
Assistance with IRB apps; knowledge of what you can do without IRB approval
Technical
expertise
Programming
Digital health evaluation and study design
Software development
Ability to link to EHRs; guidance for developing electronic data collection tools
Analytical expertise in complex datasets
Community Connection with others interested in digital health research

14. CaDHRI services of highest
need for UNC researchers

15. Which of the following services would be
useful for you in using digital health
devices or applications in your research?

16. Non-digital health researcher responses

17. Digital health researcher responses
Digital health researcher responses

18. What makes a digital health
solution successful?

19. Using digital health technologies not for the sake of
using technology, but for the sake of solving a health
or public health problem
Funding
Patients who are willing to volunteer for digital health
research
Programmers, statisticians, and clinicians
Cutting edge technologies that are delivered on time,
are technologically robust, and are priced reasonably

20. Software and application development
Knowledge of the extent of digital health
technology use among different patient
populations
Statistical methods expertise for complex digital
health interventions
Collaboration across disciplines

21. Program support, especially in managing large
datasets
Clinician support, especially in referrals to digital
health solution
Expertise in machine learning
Integration of digital health solutions with EHR
systems, provider, and payor systems

22. Areas in which to improve
outcomes using digital health
solutions

25. UNC digital health community

26. Digital Health Interest Group
Gathers people at UNC to share their interest, ideas, and
practice of digital health research
Promotes cross-disciplinary collaboration by presenting
an opportunity to meet other people on campus working
in digital health
Members share and discuss research findings, methods,
and ideas, and explore new developments related to
digital health

27. CaDHRI Advisory Board
Advocate for CaDHRI to increase exposure and interest
in digital health
Provide input on CaDHRI’s strategic vision and
activities
Provide ongoing support to ensure a viable future for
the initiative

28. Carolina Digital Health
Research Initiative
Visit http://cadhri.org or contact digitalhealth@unc.edu
 Principal Investigator Carlton Moore, MD, MS
 Director Brian Moynihan, MBA, MSIS, MA
 Project Coordinator Mihir Pershad
 Research Assistant Gayatri Rathod
Needs Assessment conducted and reported by Julia (Hill) Narendra, MPH