EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University – leading an alliance with the state’s top research universities, health care systems and health agencies – is ramping up recruitment efforts in Wayne County for the National Children’s Study, the largest human health study ever undertaken.
MSU and its partners have secured more than $75 million in National Institutes of Health funding for the state’s role in the study, which will look at children’s health and the causes of ailments such as autism, cerebral palsy and asthma. The study, looking at how genes and the environment interact to affect children’s health, will track the health and development of as many as 100,000 children from before birth to adulthood.
“After several years of preparation and planning, the National Children’s Study is slated to begin activities in 30 counties nationwide, including Wayne County, one of 10 counties where we will study the cost and feasibility of recruiting women by working with medical providers,” said Nigel Paneth, MSU professor of epidemiology, and pediatrics and human development and the project’s principal investigator.
The study will enroll pregnant women in order to identify early life factors that influence later development. Four Michigan counties besides Wayne also have been selected to participate at later dates: Genesee, Grand Traverse, Lenawee and Macomb.
Project collaborators – forming the Michigan Alliance for the National Children's Study – include MSU, University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Henry Ford Health System, Michigan Department of Community Health, Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion and the health departments of each of the five participating counties. The project will follow about 1,000 participants in each of the five counties.
While actual patient recruitment will begin in late summer and early fall, the alliance is starting now to hire staff, engage community members, identify the population segments of Wayne County for recruitment and identify the health care providers who will play a vital role in reaching out to study participants.
In early February, MSU and its partners were selected as one of 30 sites to evaluate different alternative recruitment strategies for the study. Enrollment in Wayne County will focus on provider-based recruiting, using health care providers – obstetricians, gynecologists, pediatricians, nurses and others – who are in contact with women who are or may become pregnant to provide information about the study.
For more information, visit the Michigan Alliance for the National Children's Study Web site at www.epi.msu.edu/mancs/ or the NIH National Children’s Study Web site at www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov.
###
Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.