A generic model for Internet-accessed databases in epidemiology: a nutritional application.
The Web technology has made the exchange of information among heterogeneous platforms possible with no added cost to end-users. Adding to this, it made it possible to access databases residing on servers in different geographic locations giving thus conceptors and programmers the possibility of making distributed applications with a fraction of the time needed before. This technology is therefore very well suited to medical applications which are normally multi-user, multiplatform, and data-intensive. In this paper, we present an application for epidemiological studies based on the Web technology and the reuse of common concepts in epidemiology to produce a generic model that can be parameterisable by the end-user to suit the needs of his study. This model is then applied to develop an application to optimise the collection and processing of nutritional data for a nation-wide epidemiological study concerning renal failure patients.
Hachem
F
F
Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Systèmes d'Information, INSA Lyon, France. fhachem@laennec.univ-lyon1.fr
Bellet
J
J
Flory
A
A
Leverve
X
X
D016208:Databases, Factual; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology