This month, the National Trauma Institute went live with the National Trauma Research Repository (NTRR-NTI.org), a web-based clinical research data repository built to serve the emerging data sharing needs of the entire trauma research community.
The National Trauma Research Repository (NTRR)—funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) and developed by the National Trauma Institute (NTI)—will serve as a key piece of the national trauma research infrastructure. “When fully functional, we envision a vast repository offering thousands of data points from hundreds of studies, which investigators can query for their own research,” said Donald Jenkins, MD, principal investigator for the project and Vice Chair for Quality in the Department of Surgery at UT Health San Antonio.
Accessed through a web-based application developed jointly with the National Institutes of Health – Center for Information Technology, the NTRR is organized in four modules that represent the entire patient care trajectory—pre-hospital care, inpatient care, rehabilitation and long-term outcomes/quality of life issues. Uploading clinical trial data into the NTRR will fulfill both funder and publisher obligations to share and help to create a rich resource to support trauma investigations over time. The NTRR will need trauma investigators’ participation to realize its vision and improve outcomes for injured patients.
“We expect this repository to promote collaboration, accelerate research, and advance knowledge on the characterization, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of trauma,” added Dr. Jenkins. “While it will take years to build out the repository and for it to be utilized at full capacity, the NTRR holds great promise for the responsible stewardship of data, respecting the contributions of study participants, the efforts of trialists, and the sources of public funding whose ultimate goal is to improve patient outcomes and minimize death and disability.”
To learn more and to apply for an account, visit the NTRR website.
To learn more about the current data sharing landscape and why the NTRR was built, read Launch of the National Trauma Research Repository coincides with new data sharing requirements in Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open.
This work was sponsored by the Department of the Army, Prime award #W81XWH-15.2.0089. The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD21702-5014 is the awarding and administering acquisition office. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the view of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.