Data Distribution Agreement

The Sleep Heart Health Study investigators welcome and encourage other scientists and investigators to collaborate with the study to pursue answers to research questions not currently being addressed by SHHS investigators.

Although SHHS was designed to learn more about the relationship between sleep-disordered breathing and cardiovascular disease, the investigators are receptive to research ideas unrelated to these areas, provided that SHHS has collected relevant data or is the appropriate vehicle to do so.

Collaborative efforts include, but are not limited to, proposals to analyze data already collected in SHHS or to collect additional data from SHHS participants (see Data Dictionary of SHHS Variables for available covariate data).  For persons seeking access to a limited number of polysomnograms, along with some relevant demographic and health data, the Reading Center has created an interactive website Sleep and Epidemiology Research Center (SERC) that will allow you to select and download the needed data.

The following procedure is suggested to initiate collaboration with SHHS investigators:

• Review the study design as described on this web site in the manual of operations and in the published SHHS study design and methodology papers.
• Contact a SHHS investigator who may have relevant expertise or research interest in the area to be studied. If it is unclear who should be contacted, the chairperson of the Steering Committee, the principal investigators of the Data Coordinating Center or Reading Center, or the chairperson of the Publication and Presentations Committee, may be of help in identifying an appropriate collaborating SHHS investigator.
• After discussion with a SHHS investigator, if it appears that the research proposed is appropriate for a collaborative effort with SHHS and additional data collection is required, a formal application should be developed with the SHHS investigator for presentation to the SHHS Steering Committee. The application should include the following information.
• Rationale for proposed ancillary study
• General description of the methods, including sub-groups to be studied
• Any additional data to be collected
• Time frame
• Brief analytic plan
• Source of funding, if needed
• Collaborative proposals which require only use of data already collected by SHHS may be pursued by initiation of a SHHS paper proposal in conjunction with a SHHS investigator.

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Last Updated:

14 May 2008