Information for Researchers

Requesting ECHORN Cohort Study Data

The Adult ECHORN Cohort Study (Adult ECS) database is available as a resource for the entire scientific community. One of the goals of ECHORN and the Adult ECS is to facilitate the translation of research to improve health outcomes across the Caribbean region and advance the field of health disparities research. Analyses of the data should help to facilitate this mission, and ECHORN has a responsibility to ensure that Adult ECS data is accessible to researchers conducting high quality, ethical research. 

Our data sharing model involves an application process for researchers interested in submitting research requests. All applications are reviewed by the ECHORN Data Access and Scientific Review (DASR) Committee, which meets monthly. There are two types of requests:

Secondary Data Analysis Proposals:

Requests made by ECHORN-affiliated researchers to analyze ECS data in service of manuscript development, presentations, or grant proposals. Secondary data requests must be made in writing to the DASR and include a clearly articulated hypothesis and research question. 

Ancillary Study Proposals:

Research proposals designed to investigate the prevention or treatment of non-communicable diseases on any of the five island sites. The proposals may tap into the ECHORN cohort itself or use ECHORN resources (e.g., site-based community assessment centers and staff). 

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Steps to Submitting a Proposal

  1. Identify an ECHORN Collaborator

    Data will only be released for projects/publications that include an approved ECHORN collaborator. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the data is fully understood by the users and to facilitate the link to the ECHORN Network for any additional questions that may arise. The DASR committee will work with all applicants seeking to submit a proposal to link them with an appropriate collaborator.

  2. Identify a research question and hypothesis

    Together with your ECHORN collaborator, formulate the research question and hypothesis you would like to test using data from the Adult ECS. The full Adult ECS Data Dictionary and copy of the baseline survey will be made available to applicants after initial conversations with your ECHORN collaborator.

  3. Complete the DASR Study Proposal Form

    The DASR Study Proposal Form must be completed via Qualtrics. You will be asked to also upload your research proposal to the survey form.

Ethics Approval

Any secondary data analysis request or ancillary study proposal must meet all ethics approval and signed consent requirements. The ECHORN Coordinating Center requires proof of ethics approval from the home institution, where relevant. In addition, proof that the applicant has completed human subjects training will be required. 

Contact Information:

Please contact the Chair of the DASR Committee, Dr. Josefa Martinez, for further information on submitting research proposals. 

Future Data Sharing 

Data from the Pediatric ECS will be made available in the future through the same processes outlined above following the end of the data collection period.  

Visit Explore ECHORN to access publicly shared data from the adult ECHORN cohort study.