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2009 National Children's Study – Ramsey Location
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Ramsey County has been designated a Group 1 Vanguard Centers
Duplin County yields about 800 births per year. It is a sparsely populated, rural county spread over 819 square miles. It is the location of many large hog and turkey farms and factories that process them. The county is home to a large Hispanic population, according to Dr. Barbara Entwisle, Principal Investigator of the National Children’s Study Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In contrast, Queens, New York, is a densely populated (~2.23 million), urban area that is home to thousands of immigrants from more than 100 nations. Like many urban counties in the U.S., Queens is reportedly disproportionately affected by many conditions for which the Study will help find environmental predecessors and information on the causes. According to Dr. Philip Landrigan, Principal Investigator of the Study’s Mount Sinai Study Center in New York, in some parts of the city, one in four children has asthma. He also noted that one- fifth of the city’s children entering kindergarten are overweight. |
“Group 2” Vanguard Study Centers began study activities in April 2009.
These five Study Centers are in:
- Montgomery County, PA;
- Lincoln, Pipestone, and Yellow Medicine Counties, MN, and Brookings, SD;
- Orange County, CA;
- Salt Lake County, UT; and
- Waukesha County, WI.
All seven Vanguard Study Centers will recruit participants and gather information during an 18-month pilot phase. At the end of 18 months, each Center is expected to have recruited approximately 375 volunteers. Study scientists will review the pilot experience—including the scope and costs—and may make protocol adjustments before recruitment begins in Wave 1 Centers, including Ramsey County.
More information about the National Children’ Study is available at: http://www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov
National Children’s Study Editorial in January 2009 Issue of Environmental Health Perspectives
In the January 2009 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, Dr. Peter Scheidt, Director of the National Children’s Study, and other lead Study investigators highlighted the opportunities, challenges and potential health benefits of this national longitudinal cohort study of 100,000 children. Read the full article here (pdf).
Ramsey County Segment Selection Is Complete
Local Study segments – the Ramsey County neighborhoods where the National Children’s Study will recruit and enroll young families beginning in 2011– have been selected. investigators are in the process of examining the distribution of births by hospital (to residents within the segments) to determine which hospitals are likely to be delivery sites for Study participants. They will visit the segments this summer to identify segment characteristics, including the location of schools, community and government agencies, libraries and clinics.
Spotlight on Investigative Advisory Board Member Melissa Avery
Melissa Avery, National Children’s Study Investigative Advisory Board member, is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, and Chair of the Child and Family Health Cooperative Unit. Dr. Avery is also a Certified Nurse Midwife, a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, and the President of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. One of Dr. Avery’s current projects compares an eight-week exercise intervention for the treatment of gestational diabetes with usual care for pregnant women in the American Indian community. Results from the pilot study will assist Dr. Avery in conducting a larger randomized controlled trial.
Dr. Avery is most excited about the Study hypotheses related to maternal glucose metabolism and its relationship to birth defects, childhood obesity and insulin resistance. “The study should help answer some questions related to the effect of the intrauterine environment on the health of offspring, and may help those of us who care for women during pregnancy to better target our care practices,” said Dr. Avery.
National Children’s Study Speakers’ Series Kicks Off with Childhood Asthma Talk
The first educational talk for Ramsey County residents and Study stakeholders, delivered under the auspices of the National Children’s Study Speakers’ Series, took place on March 26, 2009. The presentation, “Childhood Asthma: Potential Causes and Consequences,” was held at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in St. Paul. The presenters were two National Children’s Study co-investigators, Charles Oberg, MD, MPH, and John Adgate, PhD. More than 80 individuals attended this free event. Several web resources are available on the topic:
- The PowerPoint slides and audio from the talk are available online at: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/sphpod/sphpod/2009/03/national_childrens_study_speak.html
- For additional information on pediatric asthma, see the Minnesota Department of Health website: http://www.health.state.mn.us/asthma/
- Guidelines on asthma diagnosis and management from the National Health, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) are available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/asthgdln.htm
Hospital Engagement: Planning for Data Collection
The Study’s Ramsey County Location health care engagement team has met with administrative, medical and nursing leadership at several health care systems that provide childbirth services to Ramsey County residents. The team met with the Women’s Care Leadership Team of Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Children’s Hospital- Minneapolis this past spring. The team will continue to work with local hospitals that serve residents in the segments to develop strategies for hospital engagement.
Meetings continue with Regions Hospital staff to discuss protocols for collecting biological specimens. Information about existing protocols will be used to create a model for the National Children’s Study that could be adapted for the other large birthing hospitals serving Ramsey County residents.
In April, Study co-investigator Dr. Patricia Fontaine and Investigative Advisory Board Member Dr. Joan Madden, former Chief of Obstetrics & Gynecology for HealthPartners Medical Groups & Clinics, presented an overview of the Study at the 27th Annual OB/GYN Update. Over 100 physicians and midwives attended their presentation, “The National Children’s Study: Coming to a Hospital Near You.”
Pat McGovern, Principal Investigator of the University of Minnesota’s Study Center, was recently appointed to serve a two-year term on the Executive Steering Committee for the National Children’s Study. The Executive Steering Committee carries out the majority of the protocol and operational decision making for the Study. This appointment will enable Dr. McGovern to keep local researchers, colleagues and community supporters up to date on Study developments from a national perspective.
Issue of Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology Dedicated to Cohort Studies
The July 2009 supplement of Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology is the proceedings of a joint WHO/NICHD conference about the conduct of birth cohort studies. The articles are relevant to the NCS and cover methods and practical issues, ranging from the rationale for, and ethics of, such studies; sample selection; biological and environmental specimen collection; outcome measures; and information technology. Read the articles at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122393969/issue
Please contact Pat McGovern, (pmcg@umn.edu) or Nancy Nachreiner (nachr001@umn.edu) with questions about this report or to share your ideas about study activities.
| This communication was sent on behalf of the National Children's Study—Ramsey County Location by the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, 1260 Mayo (MMC 807), 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. If you no longer wish to subscribe to this communication, please contact Laurie Ukestad (ukest001@umn.edu).
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