Our Eyes and Ears in the Field

Two weeks ago, we discussed what brought us together as a group to work to improve the health of future generations of children. This week, we would like to talk about some of the amazing people that have helped us reach out to the community and conduct this work.

When the Greater Chicago Study Center (GCSC) was actively recruiting new people to take part in the National Children's Study (NCS), we engaged community partners to recommend people in their community who could serve as Neighborhood Ambassadors. Our hope was that we could expand our team with people who knew, and who were well known, in their community. Neighborhood Ambassadors would promote and provide information about the NCS at the very local level. They would make connections with community organizations and leaders and identify and attend events through local churches, neighborhood and parent organizations, and health fairs.

We were very lucky to meet five women very involved in their neighborhoods. From a mother who worked part time at a local hair salon, a woman who volunteered at her church, a woman who was a member of a local community organization to two women who had recently completed the Parent Leadership in Action Network as part of the Governor's Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. Besides promoting the NCS in their communities, this outstanding group of women completed the VideoVoice interviews we have been sharing with you on this blog for the last several months.

In this week’s outtake, one of our community partners talks about what were the benefits of having Neighborhood Ambassadors as part of our team:

"Primarily, [they] know what is the basis of the community, what does the community want, what it doesn’t want. I believed that someone who was hired for this role who came from another community, it would have been very difficult to get involved because there’s lack of trust, and when you don’t have trust, you don’t get anywhere. Something that would really help is being persistent. In life, you have to be very persistent. Don’t give up and explain to people. I believe people are going to see it like, “Oh, how lucky, someone is interested in my child, somebody is worried about my child’s health, I’m not alone in this.” So I see it as a positive."

Because the GCSC Neighborhood Ambassadors were an important part of the culture of those they served, they were able to understand how where a person lives and their community influence health behaviors and impacts access to and use of healthcare. In turn, they used this knowledge to encourage participation in the NCS when appropriate. In addition, because of their prior involvement in other community activities, they were able to point out community resources for those who might need them. As we continue our involvement in communities throughout Cook County with NCS participants, community partners and their families, we hope we are able to carry on the important work of the GCSC Neighborhood Ambassadors.

United by Our Interests

Three weeks ago, we released the Community Voices videos and have been really excited about your responses. Hundreds of people have watched our YouTube channel, “Liked” our Facebook page and visited this blog as a result of our campaign. In addition, we have been collecting feedback about our videos at community meetings and events. If you haven’t had a chance to tell us what you think about the videos, please do so here.

When we started reaching out to community agencies all across Cook County to inform them about the National Children’s Study, our goal was to start a two-way conversation. As members of the community, we are well aware how an unhealthy community affects everyone. If we can learn through a long-term study like the NCS how homes, schools, and neighborhoods influence the health and safety of our kids, we believe we could build the evidence that we need to address and potentially prevent many problems. Besides sharing our side of the story, we wanted to hear from community leaders, parents, teachers, healthcare providers, and others about protecting and improving the health of their communities.

In the past couple of weeks, we have talked about the importance of longitudinal studies and the role of participants. In this week’s outtake, one of our partners shares her story regarding her work in the community:




We wanted to find a common ground for the entire community to come together around the NCS. As people who live and work in Cook County, we all want our kids to grow up in a healthy environment. By this, we mean we want them to have access to high quality schools, clean water, stores with fresh produce, and safe parks where they can be active, among many other things. As NCS data become available, it will be used to analyze the effect on health of genetics, personal choice and the environment that could ultimately be used to develop programs and policies that protect the health of our families and communities for years to come.

Our Number One Priority: Study Participants

During the course of our interviews with people who live and work across Cook County, we asked women if they would consider participating in the National Children’s Study (NCS). All of the women with whom we spoke overwhelmingly said “yes” to volunteering for the NCS.  In this week’s post, you can see a sample of those responses:



Regardless of where they are in life (some of them are mothers, some do not have children, others are planning to have children), women throughout the region always ask, what does participation in the NCS entail?

During active recruitment, our main message to women who enrolled in the NCS was that they would be part of a pioneering group of women who would join a national effort to ultimately improve children’s health. We are very thankful to all of our participants who answered the call and continue to be involved in Study activities. All of us should be very proud of our participants because their contribution is invaluable to future generations. Besides the real possibility of helping improve children’s health, our participants joined the NCS because:

1.    They only have to give the Study a small amount of their time.
Participation occurs through periodic visits and phone calls with National Children’s Study staff before and during pregnancy, and as their children grow. Our colleagues at the Cumberland County Maine Study Center have written a series of blog posts detailing what happens at each study visit. Take a look here.

2.    The NCS does not interfere with their life.
The National Children’s Study is not a substitute for regular doctor visits for our moms or their children. Participants won’t be asked to take any medications or treatments.

3.    Participants can decide what information to share.
If they are ever uncomfortable answering a question or participating in any part of a Study visit, they can opt out. If life is too busy, they can take a break and rejoin the Study when it better fits their schedule.

4.    Participants can move to a new home or out of Cook County and still be a part of the Study.
Study participants needed to live in one of several randomly chosen communities in Cook County only when they enrolled. If they move out of town or across the country, they can still be involved in the NCS.

5.    They are part of a ground-breaking study.
As we discussed in last week’s post, no other study has looked at how a wide range of environmental exposures impact children’s health beginning with pregnancy over the long-term. Previous adult studies did not consider whether environmental factors might have a different impact on children.

6.    They receive a small amount of money for their time. 
We recognize the commitment participants are making to improve the health and well-being of children. We are providing compensation and thank-you gifts for participating in the Study.

7.    Participants can change the world!
Doctors, scientists, health agencies and community organizations that work with children could ultimately use information from the Study to improve how we prevent and treat children’s health problems. We can’t stress enough that participation in the National Children’s Study will make a difference for generations to come.