Got Obesity Research? HeartSmartKids can help
Many researchers and institutions are participating in the national effort to find solutions to our epidemic of childhood obesity. HeartSmartKids™ (HSK) is participating in these efforts, bringing computerized provider decision support to clinical settings and data-gathering and counseling tools to community settings.
Clinical Decision Support and Community Screening Tool
HeartSmartKids™ is a bilingual web-based decision support and screening system for childhood obesity. It generates tailored patient education materials and can embed national guidelines into daily clinical practice or community health efforts. HSK utilizes a kiosk, tablet computer, or web browser to gather information on health behaviors, knowledge, and motivations. Standard growth charts are generated, and relevant health risks are highlighted in the HeartPrint, a summary of the child's risk factors. The practitioner or counselor receives additional tailored information on effective counseling.
The purpose of HeartSmartKids in research programs is to gather data to evaluate program interventions. Examples of interventions could include: technology decision support to guide evidence-based care in a clinic, facilitate providers’ use of patient-centered counseling, provide tailored patient education materials, screen and counsel in a school setting, etc.
Data and Research
HSK collects family data in an electronic form, without the need for cumbersome data entry. Simple aggregates can be viewed real-time, and data is always available for CSV export to statistical software packages.
The patient interview and many of the patient- and provider-guidance elements can be customized to explore questions of interest to obesity researchers on a particular project.
The web-based interface can be utilized on a variety of mobile computing devices.
If you know of a project that could benefit from a portable, inexpensive, and flexible tool like HSK, please contact us, info@heartsmartkids.com or www.heartsmartkids.com.
