Environmental Factors

We started this project because we are “all committed to observe, listen carefully, evaluate the evidence, engage, and incorporate the voices of the communities and people interested and involved in the study.[1]”

The National Children’s Study has the potential to impact millions of children and families across the country to lead healthier, safer and happier lives in the future. The Study plans to accomplish this by focusing on environmental factors and their influence on the health and development of children. The NCS defines the “environment” very broadly. First of all, environment includes your physical surroundings, and as the interviews on this week’s post reveal, many community residents that we talk to do worry about the quality of the air, water and soil in their community and how that might affect their children’s health.

For us, environment does not only include geographic location and differences between neighborhoods, but also biological factors such as diet and family health history. The Study also plans to look at other factors such as family size and composition. There are also emotional factors such as behavioral inhibition, and social factors such as closeness to family and friends. As children get older, the Study will also observe their cognitive development, peer and cultural influences. In addition, the Study intends to examine chemicals in the environments where children live, learn, and play. As this video from HealthyChild.org  shows, there are more chemicals in the environments where children grow up today than ever before:

The NCS wants to find out how the interaction of all these environmental factors makes some children predisposed to certain diseases. In addition, the NCS also seeks to find which factors are actually helpful in preventing some children from developing illness. The goal of NCS is to provide policy makers with valuable data to improve prevention programs and the necessary tools to combat the negative environmental impacts on children’s health and development.

The issues raised by our neighborhood ambassadors in the following videos come out of their conversations with parents in the community. We know that some communities in Cook County disproportionately suffer from premature deaths, high rates of asthma and emergency room visits due to air pollution. In addition, lead poisoning is still major concern nationwide as there are 36.7 billion square feet of lead paint remaining in the United States, which is enough to coat the entire city of Chicago with four layers.[2] Expecting parents who are interested in increasing our understanding about these and many other environmental health issues are signing up for the National Children’s Study. Even if you are not planning to have more children, watch the videos below and then click the links on the left to find out other ways in which you can get involved:

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[1] Hirschfeld S, Kramer B, Guttmacher A. Current Status of the National Children’s Study [commentary]. Epidemiology. 2010;21:605–606.

[2] Source: HUD National Survey of Lead and Allergens, 2000

Ask the Pediatrician

Dr. Myrtis Sullivan, Chair of the Community Advisory Board of the National Children’s Study Greater Chicago Study Center, is a board-certified pediatrician with many years of clinical experience at a large public hospital. Dr. Sullivan’s research focuses on chronic diseases of childhood and adolescence (particularly bronchial asthma); breastfeeding and community-based collaborative research.

On November 12, 2011, Dr. Sullivan will be our featured speaker at our first National Children’s Study Baby Shower in Cook County. Dr. Sullivan will be taking questions from the audience about your children’s health, growth and development. We would like to offer the opportunity to all our readers to ask questions as well. Starting today, we will be collecting questions for Dr. Sullivan, so please leave your question in the comments below, OR write it on our Facebook wall, OR ask us via Twitter using #ncsmom. We will accept questions, but will only answer those that are thought to be of general interest to other parents in the Ask the Pediatrician forum. Make sure to follow us on Twitter as we will be live-tweeting the event on November 12^th, and after the event we will post a summary right here on our blog.

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to replace the advice of the physician who cares for your child. The information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her existing physician. All medical advice should be considered incomplete without a physical exam, which is not possible without a visit to your Pediatrician. This advice is meant for informational use only.

Research vs. Study

Research (noun): studious inquiry or examination; especially : investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws

Study (noun): a careful examination or analysis of a phenomenon, development, or question

At first look, both of these terms “research” and “study” seem to refer to the very same concept. However, as the interviews on this week’s post reveal, community residents may have different reactions when they hear each word mentioned. From a researcher’s standpoint, our community outreach goal is to engage potential participants and explain the benefits of joining the National Children’s Study (NCS). In that respect, our neighborhood ambassadors have become the key link between what’s happening on the ground and what the Study wants to accomplish.

Last week, our neighborhood ambassadors talked about how community residents want better and healthier neighborhoods for our children. But how do we achieve that? Policy-makers base their decisions on evidence-based research. The National Children’s Study has the potential to become the richest source of information that could provide recommendations on how to make our communities better places for children to grow up healthy and safe. In order to achieve that goal, we need expecting mothers, couples starting their families, women and local residents from across Cook County and throughout the country to consider the NCS a viable way of public participation.

The current state of affairs may signal that people are eager to make a contribution to society. The NCS is asking mothers-to-be to share their stories so we can gain a better understanding of what affects children’s health before conception, during pregnancy and for years thereafter. By answering survey questions, participating in interviews and providing biological and environmental samples, NCS participants are making a contribution that could improve the lives of generations to come.

Below, Dr. Nadine Peacock, one of our co-investigators, talks about what surprised her about our discussion during our weekly VideoVoice meeting. On the other hand, one of our neighborhood ambassadors explains how she goes about convincing people of the value of the NCS.

What are your views on the National Children’s Study? Please share your comments below after watching this week's clips:

Progress in the Field

As we continue our work in the community, attending events throughout Cook County, making presentations, talking to mothers and fathers interested in participating in the Study, we have been learning a great deal about what people’s concerns are in terms of the health of their community and what they want for their children.

Some parents have told us they are worried about living in proximity to a power plant and how that might affect their children’s health. One dad wanted to know if his son might have to stay behind in school like he did when he grew up. A community leader is concerned about lead poisoning as his community is mostly made up of older homes. An elected official talked about households using well water and not knowing how often they check the water quality. Others have mentioned the lack of resources in their community including access to parks and safe places for children to play.

Our VideoVoice project is a chance for people to go “on the record” expressing those concerns and giving feedback to the Study. Our neighborhood ambassadors have been asking local parents, community leaders, healthcare providers and others to participate in interviews, and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. Over the next several weeks, we will be producing a number of community videos which reflect the attitudes of people in our community about the National Children's Study. We will be sharing those videos through here and other means. In the meantime, two of our neighborhood ambassadors share their experiences working to promote the Study in the Latino community:

What have you learned from your first interviews?

"Working with people, doing the interviews has been very good because I have come to find out, in the first case, that the same experiences people have had are the same most of us have had. We are not really as different as we may seem, and our concerns remain mostly the same. We all want the well-being of our children; we want the well-being of our community and ourselves."

How do you think people in your community will respond to the NCS?

New this week: Check out our picture slideshow on the left, and while you're there click the "Like" button to like us on Facebook!

Welcome to the NCS-GCSC VideoVoice Project!

For the past several months, teams from Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Chicago have been working with community organizations to spread the word about the National Children’s Study (NCS) which is being conducted in Cook County as well as other counties throughout the US.

The NCS is the most comprehensive study about environmental factors that affect children’s health ever conducted in the U.S. Enrollment in the Study is still ongoing, and with continued community support, the NCS will be a success here locally.

We have some exciting news to share regarding our current outreach efforts in Cook County. We are starting a new VideoVoice project to find out what community members think about the NCS. Similar to Photovoice, VideoVoice is a community-based participatory research technique that:

• Elicits participation by those affected by an issue
• Builds realtionships with and among community members
• Catalyzes grassroots social action

The Greater Chicago Study Center has also recently invited local community members to become “neighborhood ambassadors” who will participate in our VideoVoice project and will continue promoting the Study throughout Cook County.

This Blog will be an opportunity to share our weekly activities in the community, including pictures and videos. You will also get to know our neighborhood ambassadors and their role in the National Children's Study. Feel free to comment below, we'd love to hear your thoughts and feeback! 

Here are our first videos with two of our neighborhood ambassadors: