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child on swing  National Children’s Study
Improving Children’s Environmental Health

Recognizing the need to examine the effect of environmental influences on the health and development of our nation’s children, while also acknowledging the limitations of existing research, Congress directed public health agencies to conduct a broad and deep investigation of the multitude of factors potentially associated with all aspects of child health and development. In response to this mandate, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are developing the National Children’s Study (NCS). The NCS seeks to improve the health and well-being of children by collecting information from approximately 100,000 U.S. children from prenatal development through early adulthood. The NCS is one of the most scientifically challenging public health research studies conducted to date, incorporating behavioral, emotional, educational, and contextual consequences to enable a complete assessment of the physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial environmental influences on children’s well-being.

Planning for NCS began in 1999 as an activity of the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. Title X of the Children's Health Act of 2000 subsequently authorized the NICHD, in collaboration with the CDC, the U.S.EPA, and other appropriate federal agencies, to plan, develop, and implement the NCS.The complexity of such a study demanded that Battelle combine its resources to provide the breadth of expertise needed to support the NCS. Battelle staff from across divisions and locations collaborated quickly to provide the support needed for the initial design of the NCS and pilot study work. Statisticians and program managers in Columbus, Ohio, have provided scientific and technical support to NICHD for the start-up phase of the NCS. At the same time, Battelle survey operations experts in Baltimore, Maryland, and Atlanta, Georgia, were called upon to provide a realistic perspective of survey implementation that might impact the statistical design of the NCS. Expertise measurement methodologies, neurobehavorial effects, and psycho-social behaviors are provided by Battelle staff in Seattle. In addition, Battelle has engaged previous partners, such as Harvard University, in developing a statistical sampling protocol for the NCS.

Battelle’s support for the NCS has involved engaging experts to recommend the measures to be used to assess neurobehavioral outcomes in the NCS, developing sample data collection protocols for a pilot study, and developing a series of papers on critical sampling strategy issues for the NCS, including potential sampling design options. Battelle is also providing scientific content for the next phase of the NCS to guide the selection of the study population, sampling strategy and study design, community involvement and participation, ethical issues, biological specimen collection, and observations and measurements.

For more information, please contact Mr. Warren Strauss at (614) 424-4275, strauss@battelle.org.