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.

The Home Stretch

As we work putting the final touches on the videos produced by the VideoVoice project participants, we continue to reflect on what we have accomplished through this process. One of the main things we have learned is that community leaders are very aware of the health concerns in their communities. At the same time, local parents and residents seem worried about the environment in which their children are growing up. Whether it is a school in proximity to a Brownfields, or a power plant in the neighborhood, or the safety of a well water source, all of these are real concerns that have been brought up in our conversations in the community. There are many unanswered questions regarding the relationship between the built environment and children’s health. Data gathered through the National Children’s Study could provide insight and guidance for developing strategies to reduce the environmental risk of disease in the future. Our VideoVoice Project Coordinator talks about the lessons from conducting research in a very neighborhood-oriented city:

 However, the NCS goes beyond the physical environment, as it will also pay attention to social and cultural factors. As an observational study, the NCS is taking into account child-rearing practices, family background and composition, maternal and infant nutrition, among many other factors that may affect a child’s growth and development.  Additionally, NCS encourages community involvement in places where the NCS is taking place, here in Cook County and around the country. Maria, one our neighborhood ambassador, talks about this issue in the clip below:

“Well, I learned a lot about how my community feels, what their fears are, what their strengths are, how they view life, what their motivations are, what is it that precisely keeps us living in the same community. All of that in terms of my community. I also learned to listen a little bit more, to take my time to understand the thought process that people have when they are conversing with you. [I also learned] to understand their motivations, to see from an even more human point of view those motivations that make you live in such a beautiful community like ours. I also learned to feel more secure when talking to people. When doing the interviews, each one gave me more strength, more security, more confidence in finding out what we are thinking, what is going on with us and how can we project that. It was really beautiful.”

CPD Blog - Cache Valley National Children’s Study expands data collection - CPD

From our friends at Cache County Study Center:

CPD Blog - Cache Valley National Children's Study expands data collection - CPD