Crowdsourcing for clinical research: an evaluation of maturity
Kate Birch, Kayla J. Heffernan · 2014
With the growth of the Internet and individuals using the Internet for person health research, crowdsourcing clinical research has the potential to become a powerful tool in surveilling and monitoring health outcomes. This paper evaluates the maturity of the emerging tool of crowdsourcing clinical research using two carefully selected and adapted evaluation models: Project Management Maturity Model (ProMMM) and National Infrastructure Maturity Model (NIMM). Two models were used in conjunction for the evaluation as ProMMM focuses on a professional's ability to utilise crowdsourcing for clinical research, while NIMM focuses on the maturity of crowdsourcing clinical research itself. To evaluate maturity, the authors reviewed available literature and conducted primary research in the form of interviews at the Melbourne Brain Centre at Royal Melbourne Hospital with Associate Professor Helmut Butzkueven, MS Neurologist and Researcher, and Dr Athina (Tina) Soulis, General Manager of Neuroscience Trials Australia. The tool of crowdsourcing for clinical research and the users and prospective users of the tool were found to be in immaturity. Despite immaturity, the future holds exciting applications for crowdsourcing clinical research with the potential to save costs, time, and recruit wider cohorts into clinical research.