Interview with Dr. Min-Jeoung Kang from Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital

We would like to thank Dr. Min-Jeoung Kang who recently answered some of our questions about two studies that she has collaborated on  that used Clinical Care Classification System. Dr. Kang is currently an instructor and informatics coordinator in Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital. We like how Dr. Kang sums up why the CCC System was chosen for these projects: ‘The CCC offers well-structured and comprehensive content. Additionally, it is freely accessible and easy to use, making it perfect resource for researchers, including graduate students!’

Who were the members of the research teams and funding source?

The CONCERN study was funded by NINR (National Institute of Nursing Research) and conducted as a multi-site study. The research was led by Principal Investigators Dr. Sarah Rossetti at Columbia University and Dr. Kenrick Cato at University of Pennsylvania and Mass General Brigham site investigator Dr. Patricia C. Dykes at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The home care study conducted in South Korea was performed in collaboration with Jinhwa Lee at University of Ulsan.

What problem were you trying to tackle with this research?

I’ve used the CCC in two key areas. First, to identify and standardize subjective nursing concepts (such as nurses’ concerns). Second, to standardize home care nursing records in South Korea.

What were your findings?

We found that using the CCC, abstract ideas, like “nurses’ concerns,” could be turned into concrete, standardized terms, expanding both the scope of nursing practice and research.

What are implications for practice?

Structured, coded nursing terms from clinical notes can be used to enhance risk predication models and clinical decision support for nurses. Also, by standardizing home care nursing records, we have made it possible to quantify nursing documentation. This means nursing interventions can now be measured and clearly identified, which is highly valuable. In countries where the cost of nursing care has not been established, this standardization could provide essential foundational data for future development.

Any advice to other people doing research in this area?

Standardized nursing terminologies like CCC are fundamental and essential tools for AI-driven big data research. Moreover, when we map CCC terminologies with other standardized terminologies, they offer remarkable potential for adjusting granularity and expanding research applications.

Why did you choose the CCC System?

The CCC offers well-structured and comprehensive content. Additionally, it is freely accessible and easy to use, making it perfect resource for researchers, including graduate students!

Where can we find these articles?

• Lee J, Kang MJ, Garcia JP, Dykes PC. Developing hierarchical standardized home care nursing statements using nursing standard terminologies. Int J Med Inform. 2020 Sep;141:104227. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2020.104227. Epub 2020 Jun 29. PMID: 32763790
• Kang MJ, Dykes PC, Korach TZ, Zhou L, Schnock KO, Thate J, Whalen K, Jia H, Schwartz J, Garcia JP, Knaplund C, Cato KD, Rossetti SC. Identifying nurses’ concern concepts about patient deterioration using a standard nursing terminology. Int J Med Inform. 2020 Jan;133:104016. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.104016. Epub 2019 Oct 31. PMID: 31707264; PMCID: PMC6957124.

Thanks so much for your time. Where can readers find you if they have further questions?

Thanks for having me! People can find ways to contact me on my Harvard University profile page

People can find ways to contact me on my PubMed or Harvard University profile page.