title: Attitudes toward participation in a pregnancy and child cohort study.
abstract: While epidemiological studies aim for high participation rates, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain participants in lengthy observational studies. We surveyed women who recently participated in the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study during their pregnancy to learn more about what initially motivated them to participate in the study, their attitudes about the study protocol, and whether they would allow their child to participate in future studies. Most women were motivated by their interest in science and learning about their pregnancy. In general, women felt quite comfortable with most aspects of the study. Consent forms, telephone interviews and self-administered questionnaires were the most acceptable components of the study, but even specimen collection was well tolerated by this cohort. Women were less comfortable with the possibility of their child participating in future research. This survey confirmed that once women are enrolled, they tend to be willing to complete most components of an intensive study, suggesting that initial efforts for recruitment are most important.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7435, USA. juliedaniels@unc.edu
authors.forename: Julie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Savitz
authors.forename: Chyrise
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dole
authors.forename: Kelly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Evenson
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eucker
authors.forename: Amy H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Herring
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Siega-Riz
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Thorp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009042:Motivation; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D035844:Researcher-Subject Relations / Q000523:psychology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors