For Stroke Survivors
WPPR serves as a bridge between stroke survivors and scientists conducting research.
What is WPPR?
WPPR is a research registry. You provide your contact information to the Registry Coordinator, Denise Balason. She may contact you if you qualify for a study to see if you are interested in participating. Joining WPPR is completely free and entirely separate from medical care or insurance. There is never any pressure to join a study if you do not want to. Joining WPPR simply acts as a standing offer to help advance science and help with the future of stroke recovery - if you are interested.
Is My Information Confidential?
A cornerstone of WPPR is its focus on confidentiality.
De-identified Profiles: The WPPR database accessible to researchers is stripped of names, addresses, and identifying markers. Researchers can only see information such as "a profile of a 62-year-old individual with an ischemic lesion in the left hemisphere causing aphasia." There is no way for researchers to directly identify you from what they can see. Only the Registry Coordinator can see your contact information.
The Coordinator Gateway: Researchers cannot contact you directly. If a researcher finds a profile in WPPR that fits their study, they must request permission from the Registry Coordinator, Denise Balason. The coordinator then reaches out to you first to ask, "Are you interested in hearing about this specific study?" She will give you all of the details about the study so that you can decide if you would like your contact information to be shared with a researcher. It is ALWAYS your choice whether you want to be contacted and who gets your contact information.
How Can I Learn More About WPPR?
We invite all interested stroke survivors and families to contact us to learn more about joining WPPR. You will start by contacting the Registry Coordinator, Denise Balason. She can be reached by e-mail at wppr@pitt.edu or by phone at 412-624-0178.