Collaboration Examples

Although echocardiography is a common tool used on children of all ages, training in its process and interpretation is highly complex and not widely available. To address this, Dr. Joshua Kailin, Associate Professor at BCM and a pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children's Hospital partnered with the CCIT team of software developers and educators to design, develop, and launch PedEcho, an online platform for learning pediatric echocardiography for diagnosis of congenital heart disease. PedEcho has become a premier educational site used worldwide to support the training of emerging and existing cardiologists.

Visit the Passport for Care here.
Dr. David Poplack, an internationally recognized leader in the field of pediatric oncology, served as Director of Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Center for 25 years. In 2018, he transitioned to serve as Associate Director of the Cancer and Hematology Center andm Director of Global Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence (HOPE). He describes this interactive, web-based decision support tool that provides individualized, accurate, and timely health care information for long-term survivors of childhood cancer and their health care providers. Available in two formats - for clinicians or cancer survivors - this resource can be accessed via a wide variety of online platforms and is available in English and Spanish. Developed in partnership with the CCIT and used by patients and their care teams worldwide, Passport for Care innovates how we can optimize cancer suriviors' quality of life.

Many children born with chronic heart disease (CHD) require lifelong support from specialized physicians but face considerable challenges in maintaining continuity of care. After developing an in-person program to guide patient transition education and skills through individualized support, Dr. Keila Lopez, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at BCM and Texas Children's Hospital partnered with the CCIT to earn NIH K-23 funding for the development of a mobile app that replicates this experience for at-risk patients in underserved and remote locations. Featuring a user-centered design informed by stakeholder focus groups, this app offers individualized skills building, portable transfer of care summaries, and the opportunity to connect with other adolescents and adults with CHD.

Disorders of gut-brain interaction like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are common among children and can significantly lower their quality of life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is demonstrated to be effective in treating such disorders but can be difficult to access, especially in underserved and remote settings. To address this, Dr. John Hollier, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at BCM, partnered with the CCIT to earn NIH funding for the development of a mobile app that delivers CBT to patients when and where they need it. Built on a user-centered approach that engaged affected children, their caregivers, and application developers in the design process, this tool can transform care delivery for pediatric disorders of gut-brain interaction.

Dr. Corrie E. Chumpitazi, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, introduces two programs that improve pediatric care delivery in everyday and emergency settings. First, the EEIC leverages quality improvement science and innovative education approaches that empower clinicians, patients, families, and community organizations in supporting the care of children. Second, the Pediatric Pandemic Network is a new, multi-institutional initiative to help clinicians, responders, and communities support children and their families in everyday settings and times of crises.

Dr. Nancy Moreno, Director of the Center for Educational Outreach at BCM describes the origin of BioEd Online, a site that shares a diverse array of educational resources for educators, students, and parents in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Through a partnership with the CCIT that has lasted over 15 years, Dr. Moreno and her team have built a platform for sharing engaging, evidence-based educational content with audiences worldwide.

The CCIT has supported an array of D&I initiatives to bring evidence-based practices into everyday care. Learn more about the Center’s robust portfolio of resources, tools, and services that translate research findings into practical, accessible tools for clinicians, faculty, and the wider community to inform care delivery and shared decision making.

Dr. Christie Ballantyne describes foundational work of the CCIT to capitalize on emerging web-based technologies to innovate clinician education on a global scale. He describes how this work also pioneered research as the first randomized clinical trial demonstrating the efficacy of online education in producing clinician behavioral change and improved patient outcomes in alignment with clinical guidelines.