The CARES Center supports research projects and investigators through services such as study design, social determinants of health measures, data management and integration, geo-linking and mapping, dissemination and implementation science, qualitative and mixed methods, statistical and cost-effectiveness analysis, and REDCap database construction. The core’s three main services include:
Methodological Expertise
Methodological expertise on study design, analytic approaches, and statistical modeling
Data Element Development
Common data elements development and support on data measures, tools, integration, interoperability, and visualization
Implementation Strategies
Expertise on the use of implementation strategies and dissemination of research findings.
Consultation Form
Unsure of where to start or what services your project could benefit from most? Let our team of experts help. Use the button below to be matched with the services that best meet your needs.
Social Determinants of Health Toolkit
The social mechanisms that affect health can be complex, and often times difficult to measure precisely. There are a growing number of methodologies specific to measuring the social determinants of health and research has presented several validated mechanisms to measure these determinants. We maintain SDH Toolkit with scales, indices, and instruments to measure various individual- and area-level social determinants of health.
Note: UAB Employees can instantly access the toolkit using the button below and their Blazer ID/password. Those without a “@uab.edu” email address, can still access the toolkit. Please reach out to Joy Ledvina at jrledvina@uabmc.edu for more information.
Common Data Element Variables
The CARES Center uses Common Data Elements to support data harmonization across projects. All funded pilot projects are required to collect the Tier 1 Common Data Elements. The Tier 2 Common Data Elements are not required; however, if projects collect data on concepts included in the Tier 2 collection, they must use the instruments in the Tier 2 collection.
Tier 1: Sociodemographics, Housing employment and insurance, Medical history
Tier 2: Alcohol and tobacco, Perceived discrimination, Social support
These CDEs are programmed into REDCap and will be made available to funded project recipients.
