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Purpose of the project

The purpose of the project is to establish a digital operating model for recall-based studies. Initially, this model will be piloted with individuals registered in the Central Finland Biobank. The ultimate goal is to expand the operating model of this recall-based study and collection of lifestyle and environmental data from all Finnish biobanks.

As part of the project, a survey questionnaire will be developed in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland and the Wellbeing Services County of Central Finland. The questionnaire will cover areas such as physical activity and dietary habits, substance use, stress experience, mood, sleep, occupational exposures, and living environment. Data collection will be facilitated using the REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) software, which is suitable for collecting sensitive information. The project aims to motivate participants to respond to the comprehensive survey by providing immediate feedback after completing the questionnaire. Survey responses will be collected through the Finnish Biobank Cooperative â€“ FINBB OmaBiopankki platform. By using OmaBiopankki, the Central Finland Biobank will have information about the individuals who participated in the survey, allowing the integration of survey data with the biobank’s registry information.

The anticipated benefits

The digital operating model for collecting and utilizing lifestyle information developed in the project could be widely implemented in healthcare and biobanks in the future. By combining data on individuals’ genetic susceptibility to diseases, lifestyle, and risk factors for chronic conditions, more effective and personalized health promotion and disease prevention services can be developed.

Using this operating model, researchers can conduct recall-based studies, inviting participants for more targeted laboratory measurements or interventions based on their individual risk profiles. These personalized risk profiles may include information about genetic susceptibility, diagnoses, lifestyle, or their combinations.

Since the beginning of 2023, the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ and the Central Finland Biobank have initiated a model in which all faculty-led projects offer participants the opportunity to provide biobank consent or samples. This initiative will contribute to increasing the volume of Central Finland Biobank in the future. The BioRecall is a natural continuation of this collaborative effort between the well-being cervices county and the university.

Funding

The pilot phase of the project was funded by JYU.Well, the well-being research community at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥. The project is also supported by the Research Council of Finland, which has granted over one million euros in research infrastructure funding to the BBMRI.fi consortium. The BioRecall subproject’s share of the total funding is 210,000 euros.

BBMRI.fi is a research infrastructure composed of all ten Finnish public biobanks. The coordination of BBMRI.fi activities fall under the responsibility of