Glossary of Terms
This a glossary of acronyms and terms related to the ACRC. There are a number of other glossaries and style guides, on the University of Edinburgh or Newcastle University websites, which can be useful to refer to.
AAW = Advanced Analytics Workbench, new name for PPZ; virtual machine in the national safe haven for special projects.
The Academy = The ACRC Academy for Leadership and Training in Advanced Care (PhD Programme at the ACRC)
ACRC = Advanced Care Research Centre (Our research centre, focusing on improving care for people in later life).
ADL = activities of daily living
Advanced care = care in later life
AE = Adverse Events
AI = Artificial intelligence
AIM-CISC = Artificial Intelligence and Multimorbidity: Clustering in Individuals, Space and Clinical Context (a 3 year research grant, funded by the NIHR)
AIM RSF = AI for Multiple Long-Term Conditions Research Support Facility
Algorithms = a type of computer operation made up of calculations to solve a problem
AMS = Academy of Medical Sciences
ASTOX = Annual Statement of Expenditure
ATAS = Academic Technology Approval Scheme
ARC, usually in the context of NIHR ARC = NIHR Applied Research Collaboration
Bayes Centre – University of Edinburgh’s innovation hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
BNF = British National Formulary
BRAT = web-based tool for text annotation
CAHSS = College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh
CALIBER = open-access resource providing information, tools and phenotyping algorithms for UK electronic health records data
CCF RMS = Central Commissioning Facility Research Management System (NIHR online portal)
CCIS = Charlson Comorbidity Index Score
CDO = Chief Dental Officer
CDT = Centre for Doctoral Training
CEQs= Course Enhancement Questionnaires
CGA = Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment
CHI = Community Health Index Number (10 digits, includes date of birth, gender, unique ID number)
CMVM = College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh
CMO = Chief Medical officer
CNO = Chief Nursing Officer
Commercial data storage = businesses who digitally store data for future use
CPHS = Centre for Population Health Sciences
CPRD = Clinical Practice Research Datalink; UK Gov-run anonymised primary care database
CSE = College of Science and Engineering at the University of Edinburgh
CSO = Chief Scientist Office
CTA = Clinical Trial Authorisation
CTO = Chief Technical officer
DA = directly allocated
DI = directly incurred
DataLoch = a data service that has been developed in South East Scotland to bring together routine data in health and social care services.
DDE = Data Driven Entrepreneurship
DDI = Data Driven Innovation (An innovation network helping organisations tackle challenges for industry and society by doing data right)
DPIA = Data Protection Impact Assessment
Drivers = another word for ‘factors’ that is used to describe something that has an influence on something else
DTP = Doctoral Training Programme
DPT = Degree Programme Table
DRPS = Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study
ECA = Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh
eFI = electronic Frailty Index
ELDeR = A practical, team-based approach to learning design
ELSA = English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing
EMIS = Emis Health (formerly Egton Medical Information Systems), supplier of electronic patient record software. Approx 50% of GP practices use EMIS products (this feeds into the CPRD Aurum database.)
EMREC = University of Edinburgh Research Ethics Committee
EPCC = Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre
EPSRC = Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
ERAP = electronic Research Applications Portal (CPRD)
ESRC = Economic, Political and Social Research Council
ESC = Extensions and special circumstances
Evaluative research = a type of research which focuses on the effectiveness of a given process
Frailty = a state of declining health.
FSTOX = Final Statement of Expenditure
GP = General practitioner
H&SC = Health and social care
HES – Hospital Episode Statistics - data warehouse with details of all admissions, outpatient appointments and A&E attendances at NHS hospitals in England
HSCP = Health and social care partnership
HDR UK = Health Data Research UK (Working to unite the UK’s health data to enable discoveries that improve people’s lives.)
HIC = Health Informatics Centre
HiSS = Health in Social Science
HSS = School of Health in Social Science at the University of Edinburgh
HWL = Healthier Working Lives for the care workforce
ICD e.g. ICD-10 = International Classification of Diseases e.g. ICD-10 (tenth revision)
IHTSDO = International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (trades as SNOMED)
IGC = Institute of Genetics and Cancer
Integrated care = refers to the co-ordination of care into a single process often, across different departments.
IoC = Images of care (research designed to capture, challenge, and change perspectives around ageing and care through images)
IRAS = Integrated Research Application System - a single system for applying for the permissions and approvals for health and social care / community care research in the UK
ISAC = Independent Scientific Advisory Committee
JLA = James Lind Alliance (an organisation that brings patients, carers and clinicians together in Priority Setting Partnerships to identify and prioritise the Top 10 unanswered questions or evidence uncertainties that they agree are the most important.)
L&G = Legal & General (our funders)
LBC = Lothian Birth Cohort (a research group based in Psychology at the University of Edinburgh, aiming to understand how our brain and thinking skills change throughout life, and why some brains age better than others.)
Logistic regression model = a method of statistical analysis which can result in a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer based upon observations made from collected data.
LTC = long term condition
Machine learning = refers to computer systems that are able to use patterns of data to learn and adapt without specific instruction.
MEL = Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (framework)
MGPHS = Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences
MHRA = Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
MIMIC = a publicly available dataset from MIT that comprises deidentified health data associated with thousands of intensive care unit admissions
MLN = Multi-slice Networks
MLTC – multiple long term conditions
MM = Multimorbidity (the coexistence of two or more long-term conditions (including mental and physical) within an individual)
MRC = Medical Research Council (improves the health of people in the UK - and around the world - by supporting excellent science, and training scientists.)
MTA = material transfer agreement
Multi-morbidity = refers to a person who may have one or more health condition at the same time.
National Safe Haven = a secure environment where personal data is stored
NHS = National Health Service
NHSx = (NHS user eXperience) - UK Gov agency for tech policy and best practice; now merged with NHS Digital
NICA = National Innovation Centre for Ageing, Newcastle University
NICE = National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NIHR = National Institute for Health Research
NLP = Natural language processing, the application of computational techniques to the analysis of natural language and speech e.g. using computational methods to better understand free text in general practice records.
ORDO = Orphanet Rare Disease Ontology
PBPP = Public Benefit and Privacy Panel (NHS Scotland Public Benefit and Privacy Panel for Health and Social Care)
PDRA = Postdoctoral research associate
PG = Postgraduate (having completed a degree)
PGR = Postgraduate Research(ers)
PGT = Post Graduate (Taught) - an MSc, or PhD with a taught component
PhD = Doctor of philosophy (typically the highest level of educational attainment)
PHS = Public Health Scotland, Scotland’s lead national agency for improving and protecting the health and wellbeing of all of Scotland’s people
PMO = Programme Management Office
PPIE = Patient and public involvement and engagement
PPLS = School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh
PPZ = Private Project Zone; used in Dataloch
Predictive strategy = a form of advanced analysis based on the use of historical data to predict future events
PROSPERO = International prospective register of systematic reviews
PRU, usually in the context of NIHR PRU = Policy Research Unit
Radio frequency = a measurement of electromagnetic waves used a mostly as a form of communication.
RCT = Randomised Control Trials
Routine data = refers to the repeated collection of data information.
RUPICs = Researchers Understanding the Person In Context
SAE = Serious Adverse Effects
SAIL = Secure Anonymised Information Linkage database (providing researchers with high-quality linkable data to address important research questions)
SES = Socioeconomic status
Sensors = defined as a device which identifies and responds to changes in an environment.
SIGN = Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network
SLS = Scottish Longitudinal Study
SMR00 = Scottish Morbidity Record 00 – Outpatient attendance
SMR01 = Scottish Morbidity Record 01 – General/Acute Inpatient and Day Case
SMR02 = Scottish Morbidity Record 02 – Maternity Inpatient and Day Case
SNOMED = Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine
SoECAT = Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template
SPsS = Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
SPS/SSPS = School of Social and Political Science
T&Ds = Tutors and Demonstrators
Telemonitoring = a type of technology that may be used to remotely monitor patient health.
Telescot = A programme of academic research investigating telemetric supported self monitoring of long term health conditions.
UG = undergraduate
UHPI = system allocated unique reference number for Trak
UI = urinary incontinence
UKRI = UK Research and Innovation (convenes, catalyses and invests in close collaboration with others to build a thriving, inclusive research and innovation system)
UMLS = Unified Medical Language System
UPRN = Unique Property Reference Number
UoE = University of Edinburgh
VOICE = a platform for citizens across the UK and internationally, to support PPIE, based at NICA
WP = Work package
WP3 = Work Package 3: Improving the data infrastructure
WP4 = Work Package 4:Understanding the person in context
WP5 = Work Package 5: Data driven insight and prediction
WP6 = Work Package 6: Technology of care
WP7 = Work Package 7: Models of care
WT = Wellcome Trust (a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London)
10k Steps = Beyond the 10 000 steps: Managing less visible aspects of healthy ageing at work