Oral

The National Children’s Study (NCS) will follow 100,000 children from before birth to age 21 to examine the effects of environmental influences on their health and development. The Study is the first effort to capture environmental exposures prior to and early in pregnancy, and then to track so many participants for more than 20 years. The ability to examine multiple environmental exposures and link them in a cause-effect relationship with multiple outcomes is the defining characteristic of the Study. The subject of this session is an update on implementation of the NCS. After 8 years of intensive research and planning, the National Children’s Study launched recruitment and the Vanguard cohort phase of the Study in 2009. The Vanguard Study will focus entirely on assuring the feasibility, acceptability, and determining the cost of procedures and data collections being considered for the Main Study. The NCS is expanding the scope of activity of the Vanguard Study in order to accelerate development and deployment of the Main Study. The goals are to evaluate: (1) alternative strategies for recruitment; (2) Study visit assessments (those events and assessments that are scheduled during Study visits); and (3) Study logistics and operations. This session will describe how the Vanguard Study relates to the Main Study; efforts to recruit and retain a nationally representative sample efficiently; results of Study visit assessments during pregnancy and birth in Vanguard locations; and the role of local health organizations in conducting the Study. We will address challenges and experiences associated with conducting a large multidisciplinary cohort study for children. Presentations will describe the function of the Vanguard Study. Approaches to recruit and retain participants to meet enrollment targets will be illustrated. Deployment and evaluation of site visit assessments will be described, including efforts to improve sample collection efficiency. Data analysis and management procedures employed in the Vanguard Study will be explained and a summary of key results presented. The value of the Vanguard Study to design and implementation of the Main Study will be discussed.

Session Objectives: 1. Explain the rationale and design of the National Children's Study (NCS) Vanguard Study and its relationship to the Main Study. 2. Describe the challenges of recruitment to the NCS and be familiar with different recruitment approaches. 3. Assess data collection, analysis, and management procedures within the NCS. 4. Identify the value of interacting with communities and community health care organizations.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)