Strategies behind the establishment of a developmental cohort study in the Tottori City.
BACKGROUND
The Tottori study group, part of the JCS, presides over a community-based cohort study started when subjects-children living in Tottori City-were 5 years old. The social aspects of conducting a cohort study should also be made public, as this information is crucial for conducting community-based cohort studies.


METHODS
Documents pertaining to social aspects implemented by the Tottori study group between 2004 and 2008 were arranged chronologically. Information which is crucial for conducting community-based cohort studies were extracted and classified into several categories.


RESULTS
Five categories were extracted from the documents: research staff, supporting committee, recruitment, maintenance of motivation and disclosure. Implementation of the social aspects described in maintenance of motivation resulted in fewer subjects dropping out of the study and a re-recruitment rate of approximately 90%.


CONCLUSIONS
The following factors are essential for a successful developmental cohort study of children: 1) A birth cohort study should be planned in hospitals with medical staff such as obstetricians and pediatricians; 2) An interdisciplinary group composed of medical or psychological clinicians and researchers with abundant experience in epidemiological study should be included; 3) If possible, an expert or widely known individual in the study's target field should be included as a member of the study staff; 4) For long cohort studies, a researcher with expertise in school education should be included; 5) A support committee should be organized as an external part of the study team.
Koeda
Tatsuya
T
Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo, Japan. koeda@rstu.jp
Ishida
Hiraku
H
Ishigami
Reiko
R
Takeuchi
Ariko
A
Terakawa
Shinako
S
Kobayashi
Katsutoshi
K
Seki
Ayumi
A
Tamaru
Toshitaka
T
D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D032802:Committee Membership; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D030881:Disclosure; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D009042:Motivation; D018579:Patient Selection; D012107:Research Design; D012108:Research Personnel