Every team member is dedicated to the success of the National Children’s Study in Salt Lake County. The Salt Lake County Vanguard Location is led by a group of researchers, psychologists, environmental scientists, pediatricians, obstetricians/gynecologists, and many other individuals who are concerned about children’s health. The Salt Salt Lake County Vanguard Location Research Team has been brought together to develop the best approach to successfully complete the National Children’s Study.
There are over 7,000 homes in the Salt Lake County area selected for the Study. Starting in the spring of 2009, household interviewers will be visiting these neighborhoods to invite eligible women and their families to join the Study. The information collected about the family and their environments is vital to the success of the Study’s goal to answer questions about childhood health and disease.
Once a woman enrolls in the Study, her health and environment will be observed by our research team. These observations will continue throughout her pregnancy and after her child is born, until the child is 21 years old. These researchers will monitor the family’s health by using surveys, taking environmental samples in the home, and collecting samples of body fluids (such as blood, urine, and hair). The information collected will be analyzed to understand what impact it has on the child’s health.
All of our team members are committed to the security of the information that we collect for the Study. Every employee has been given a background check, drug test, and certified on how to ensure the privacy of our Study participants. Our local Study office on the campus of the University of Utah has security, and only certified individuals are allowed into our offices. The data we collect will be identified using code numbers instead of names. A Study participant’s privacy is very important, and we are taking every precaution to protect it.
The most important time to observe a child’s environment and exposures is during pregnancy and the first years of life. The environment (chemical, physical, biological, behavioral, social, and cultural) impacts a child’s health considerably during this age of rapid growth and development. That is why it is so important for our team of interviewers and environmental testers to monitor the environment early in a child’s life. We will be scheduling periodic visits to collect biologic and environmental samples from participants, as well as having them complete questionnaires and taking health measures. The results will be used to answer many questions about children’s health and improve the health for future generations of children.