The National Children’s Study will examine the effects of the environment, as broadly defined to include factors such as air, water, diet, sound, family dynamics, community and cultural influences, and genetics on the growth, development, and health of children across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21 years. The goal of the Study is to improve the health and well-being of children and contribute to understanding the role various factors have on health and disease. The study, sponsored by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and a consortium of other federal agencies, has the potential to support breakthrough research on the factors affecting child health, including genetics and a wide range of environmental influences. Findings from the Study will be made available as the research progresses, making potential benefits known to the public as soon as possible.
The National Children’s Study is data-driven, evidence-based, and community and participant informed. Ultimately, the National Children’s Study will be one of the richest research efforts geared towards studying children’s health and development and will form the basis of child health guidance, interventions, and policy for generations to come.
NORC is proud to be at the forefront of this highly ambitious new study, by providing technical assistance and data collection support to eleven Study Centers participating in the current Vanguard pilot phase of the study through Alternate Recruitment Substudy and a number of formative research projects. The Alternate Recruitment Substudy will inform the development and protocol of the main study by testing provider, household, and direct to consumer participant recruitment through an examination of the feasibility, acceptability and costs of the recruitment approaches.
NORC's work will vary from center to center and may include some or all of the following tasks:
- Data collection coordination
- Listing
- Household screening
- Participant enrollment
- In-person and telephone interviewing
- Bio-specimen and environmental sampling
- Clinic/hospital-based data collection
- Data collection systems development and support
- Technical consultation on sampling design
The study centers in which NORC will play a role include:
- Waukesha County Vanguard Center
- Greater Chicago Study Center
- University of Massachusetts
- University of Pittsburgh
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
- University of Minnesota
- Maine Medical Center
- University of Louisville
- University of Iowa
- University of California - Irvine
- University of Mississippi Medical Center