The MAGIC Healthy Smart Home project focuses on creating a new way to gather, store, analyze, and utilize health data in a residential setting. Ultimately, solutions developed in the project will allow seniors to age in place, the disabled to better access the health care system, and provide powerful tools for delivering preventive care in a residential setting, keeping people healthier for longer periods, at lower cost.
An important feature of the project is how it prioritizes data privacy and security, and reorients the data collection process around individual ownership of data.
To ensure the privacy and dignified treatment of the clients residing in the two Medical Smart Homes managed by Target Community and Educational Services, MAGIC has formed an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
The MAGIC IRB reviews, approves, and monitors all aspects of the Medical Smart Home project touching on privacy, consent, and the ethical treatment of anyone involved with the project. Members of the IRB, all volunteers, represent a broad range of expertise in our community: researchers, a lawyer, clergy, and other interested community members with experience protecting the interests of vulnerable populations.
The MAGIC IRB is registered with the Office of Human Research Protections of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is an important step to ensure that MAGIC complies with all federal research regulations, and enables the members of the IRB to receive the most up-to-date training and information to ensure the success of the Medical Smart Home project. It is also a requirement for eligibility to receive federal research funding from organizations like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
If you would like to learn more about the MAGIC Healthy Smart Home Project, the IRB, or you would like to volunteer with either, contact Executive Director Amy Rupp (arupp@magicinc.org).