Follow-up Appointments

 The Gomeroi Gaaynggal Study is not recruiting into the follow-up study at the moment.

What happens in the Gomeroi Gaaynggal follow-up study?

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Step 1: Pre-consent phone call

If you told the study Research Assistant/health worker that it was ok for them to give you a call about participating in the Gomeroi Gaaynggal Follow-up Study when your baby is born, then they will call you to see if you are still interested and arrange an appointment to get your consent.

  • If you are not interested anymore, no worries! Your decision not to participate in the study will not impact your own, or your child’s, normal health care.

  • If you are interested, we will arrange an appointment at Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Services (TAMS) to get your consent.

Step 2: Consent

During your appointment at TAMS the Research Assistant/health worker will talk to you about the Gomeroi Gaaynggal study and take you through the Follow-up Participant Information Sheet.

  • You will be given the opportunity to ask questions.

  • You will be given the opportunity to take the Participant Information Sheet home with you to discuss with your family/support people.

Click here to download our Follow-up Study Participant Information Sheet.

Don’t want to participate?

  • All good! You continue with your health care at TAMS as you normally would. Your decision not to participate in the study has no impact on your own, or your child’s, regular health care.

Do want to participate?

  • We will arrange another appointment with you at TAMS so you can sign your follow-up study consent form to show us that you are happy with what we want to collect, do tests for and store as part of the study.

Click here to download our Follow-up Study Consent form for mums.

OR

Click here to download our Follow-up Study Consent form for babies/children.

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Step 3: Sample/data collection

As a part of the Gomeroi Gaaynggal Follow-up Study we will want to catch up with you and bub when your child is:

  • 3 months old

  • 6 months old

  • 12 months old

  • 2 years old

  • 3 years old

With your permission, while you are in the research study our researchers will contact you to organise your appointments for the follow up study. At these visits we will want to collect samples and perform some body measurements and surveys with both you and bub.

What do we collect and when?

  • At each study visit while in the research project we will:

    • Collect blood and urine samples

    • Measure your:

      • Blood pressure

      • Weight

      • Height

      • Girths (this is the distance around your waist, arms, legs, and buttocks)

      • Body composition (what your body is made of, like the amounts of muscle, fat and water).

    • Do surveys that ask you about:

      • Stressful life events and the effects these events have on you

      • Discrimination

      • Mental health

      • Smoking

      • What you eat (your diet)

      • Your health and health history

      • Demographics (things like income, employment, and education).

  • At each study visit while in the research project we will:

    • Collect urine samples

    • Measure their growth, this includes their:

      • Length

      • Weight

      • Head measurements

      • Skinfold thickness (amount of fat under the skin)

      • Blood pressure

    • Perform surveys with mums/carers that ask about their child's:

      • Diet (what they are eating or drinking)

      • Development

      • Hearing and speech

      • Health and health history

 

Please remember, all parts of your participation in the Gomeroi Gaaynggal study are completely voluntary. You do not have to give samples or do surveys if you do not want to.

You can withdraw from the study at anytime and you can ask to have your samples and/or data destroyed without giving a reason.

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