The Lifeways Cross-Generation Study: design, recruitment and data management considerations

The Lifeways Cross-Generation Cohort Study was first established in 2001 and is a unique longitudinal database in Ireland, with currently over three and a half thousand family participants derived from 1124 mothers recruited initially during pregnancy, mainly during 2002. The database comprises a) baseline self-reported health data for all mothers, a third of fathers and at least one grandparent b) clinical hospital data at recruitment, c) three year follow-up data from the families General Practitioners, and d) linkage to hospital and vaccination databases. Data collection for the five-year follow-up with parents is underway, continuing through 2007. Because there is at present no single national regional health information system in Ireland, original data instruments were designed to capture data directly from family members and through their hospitals and healthcare providers. A system of relational databases was designed to coordinate data capture for a complex array of study instruments and to facilitate tracking of family members at different time points.The Lifeways Cross-Generation Cohort Study was first established in 2001 and is a unique longitudinal database in Ireland, with currently over three and a half thousand family participants derived from 1124 mothers recruited initially during pregnancy, mainly during 2002. The database comprises a) baseline self-reported health data for all mothers, a third of fathers and at least one grandparent b) clinical hospital data at recruitment, c) three year follow-up data from the families General Practitioners, and d) linkage to hospital and vaccination databases. Data collection for the five-year follow-up with parents is underway, continuing through 2007. Because there is at present no single national regional health information system in Ireland, original data instruments were designed to capture data directly from family members and through their hospitals and healthcare providers. A system of relational databases was designed to coordinate data capture for a complex array of study instruments and to facilitate tracking of family members at different time points.