Optimizing Usability, Generalizability, and Impact of CAPNET Multicenter Child Abuse Research Network Data

/ABSTRACT Over 120,000 children are identified as physical abuse victims in the U.S. annually, which is an underestimate as medical providers frequently fail to identify the abusive origin of injuries. In response to the critical need for evidence-based research to inform equitable recognition, evaluation, and care of victims of suspected physical abuse, CAPNET launched in February 2021 as the first multicenter child physical abuse research network designed to support multiple concurrent studies. CAPNET's mission is to make the care of potentially abused children more effective, safe, and fair. CAPNET collected detailed clinical data on >12,000 children undergoing evaluations for physical abuse at 10 pediatric centers. The goal of this proposal is to archive CAPNET's rich, complex data and increase its usability, generalizability, and impact through investigator support tools, linkage with external datasets, and dissemination of CAPNET data and research products. Increasing the usability of CAPNET's complex data is necessary to support ongoing high-quality research. With NICHD R24 funding, the CAPNET Data Coordinating Center (DCC) provided tailored, resource-intensive guidance to individual study investigators. Given high-demand for CAPNET data and upcoming end of R24 funding, there is a need to streamline this process to increase sustainability by (1) making CAPNET data more user-friendly and by (2) ensuring resource-efficient development and distribution of analytic datasets. In addition, linkages of CAPNET data with hospital and community-based data are needed to broaden the impact and generalizability of CAPNET studies. CAPNET has created a rich, clinical data source, but CAPNET only collects information on children undergoing evaluations by child abuse pediatrics specialists (CAPs) and not the wider denominator of children presenting with similar injuries and not referred for CAP evaluation. The Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) administrative dataset captures all children evaluated in the emergency and inpatient setting at 7 of 10 CAPNET hospitals. Linkage with PHIS will facilitate research on disproportionality in abuse evaluations as well as validation of use of ICD-10 codes in abuse epidemiology research. Finally, CAPNET data has primarily been used by CAPs; we seek for CAPNET to be a resource for the wider research community. We will address these needs through the following aims: (1) increase accessibility, efficiency, and usability of CAPNET data, (2) harmonize CAPNET data with hospital and community-level data to increase generalizability and impact, and (3) promote awareness and use of CAPNET data, research products, and resources among researchers and policy makers. Completion of these aims will maximize impact of NICHD's R24 investment in CAPNET through ongoing rigorous research. Products of this proposal will be (a) an archived CAPNET master dataset containing data from >12,000 children harmonized with hospital and community data from which the DCC will generate user-friendly, study-specific datasets, (b) technical support tools to inform the rigorous use of CAPNET data, and (c) dissemination products and engagement tools. Project Number: 1R03HD119150-01 | Fiscal Year: 2025 | NIH Institute/Center: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) | Principal Investigator: Maria Henry (+1 co-PI) | Institution: CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA, PHILADELPHIA, PA | Award Amount: $178,000 | Activity Code: R03 | Study Section: Population Sciences Study Section[CHHD-W] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/1R03HD11915001