The Yale Department of Medicine COVID-19 Data Explorer and Repository (DOM-CovX): An Innovative Approach to Promoting Collaborative Scholarship During a Pandemic

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an explosion of research publications spanning epidemiology, basic and clinical science. While a digital revolution has allowed for open access to large datasets enabling real-time tracking of the epidemic, detailed, locally-specific clinical data has been less readily accessible to a broad range of academic faculty and their trainees. This perpetuates the separation of the primary missions of clinically-focused and primary research faculty resulting in lost opportunities for improved understanding of the local epidemic; expansion of the scope of scholarship; limitation of the diversity of the research pool; lack of creation of initiatives for growth and dissemination of research skills needed for the training of the next generation of clinicians and faculty.

Objectives

Create a common, easily accessible and up-to-date database that would promote access to local COVID-19 clinical data, thereby increasing efficiency, streamlining and democratizing the research enterprise. By providing a robust dataset, a broad range of researchers (faculty, trainees) and clinicians are encouraged to explore and collaborate on novel clinically relevant research questions.

Methods

We constructed a research platform called the Yale Department of Medicine COVID-19 Explorer and Repository (DOM-CovX), to house cleaned, highly granular, de-identified, continually-updated data from over 7,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (1/2020-present) across the Yale New Haven Health System. This included a front-end user interface for simple data visualization of aggregate data and more detailed clinical datasets for researchers after a review board process. The goal is to promote access to local COVID-19 clinical data, thereby increasing efficiency, streamlining and democratizing the research enterprise.

Expected Outcomes

• Accelerate generation of new knowledge and increase scholarly productivity with particular local relevance

• Improve the institutional academic climate by:

  • Broadening research scope

  • Expanding research capability to more diverse group of stakeholders including clinical and research-based faculty and trainees

  • Enhancing interdepartmental collaborations

Conclusions

The DOM-CovX Data Explorer and Repository have great potential to increase academic productivity. By providing an accessible tool for simple data analysis and access to a consistently updated, standardized and large-scale dataset, it overcomes barriers for a wide variety of researchers. Beyond academic productivity, this innovative approach represents an opportunity to improve the institutional climate by fostering collaboration, diversity of scholarly pursuits and expanding medical education. It provides a novel approach that can be expanded to other diseases beyond COVID 19.