What Research Questions Should the Next Generation of Birth Cohort Studies Address? An International Delphi Study of Experts

Ruth Harriet Brown; Manuel Eisner; Sara Valdebenito; Susan Walker; Mark Tomlinson; Claire Hughes; Catherine L. Ward; Joseph Osafo; Siham Sikander; Pasco Fearon; Michael P. Dunne; Bernadette Madrid; Adriana Baban; Vo Van Thang; Asvini D. Fernando; Aja L. Murray

doi:10.1016/j.acap.2020.03.011

What Research Questions Should the Next Generation of Birth Cohort Studies Address? An International Delphi Study of Experts

Ruth Harriet Brown^*, Manuel Eisner, Sara Valdebenito, Susan Walker, Mark Tomlinson, Claire Hughes, Catherine L. Ward, Joseph Osafo, Siham Sikander, Pasco Fearon, Michael P. Dunne, Bernadette Madrid, Adriana Baban, Vo Van Thang, Asvini D. Fernando, Aja L. Murray

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: Birth cohort studies (BCS) have generated a wealth of invaluable basic scientific and policy-relevant information on a wide range of issues in child health and development. This study sought to explore what research questions are currently a priority for the next generation of BCS using a 3-round Delphi survey of interdisciplinary experts. Methods: Twenty-four (Round I, N = 17; Round II, N = 21; Round III, N = 18) experts across a wide range of fields (eg, psychology, public health, and maternal/child health) agreed to participate. In Round I, the expert panel was invited to freely respond to the question, “what are the key scientific questions future birth cohort studies should address?” Content analysis of answers was used to identify 47 questions for rating on perceived importance by the panel in Round II and consensus-achieving questions were identified. Questions that did not reach consensus in Round II were posed again for expert re-rating in Round III. Results: Twenty six of 47 questions reached consensus in Round II, with an additional 6 reaching consensus in Round III. Consensus-achieving questions rated highly on importance spanned a number of topics, including environmental effects on child development, intergenerational transmission of disadvantage, and designing BCS to inform intervention strategies. Conclusion: Investigating the effects of family/environmental factors and social disadvantage on a child's development should be prioritized in designing future BCS. The panel also recommended that future BCS are designed to inform intervention strategies.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	43-52
Number of pages	10
Journal	Academic Pediatrics
Volume	21
Issue number	1
Early online date	31 Dec 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2020.03.011
Publication status	Published - Jan 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Financial statement: This work was supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund (grant number: GCRF01 ).

Funding Information:
We are grateful to the University of Edinburgh College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences SFA ODA Global Challenges Fund for funding the current research. In addition, we are grateful to Dr Charlotte Hanlon, Dr Jena Hamadani, Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Professor Guenther Fink, Dr Inácio Crochmore, Professor Jane Fisher, Professor Lynne Murray, Professor Kathy Sylva, Dr Santiago Cueto, Professor Theresa Betancourt, and the other anonymous experts who formed our expert panel.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020

Keywords

birth cohort studies
consensus
Delphi method
research priorities

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

Brown, R. H., Eisner, M., Valdebenito, S., Walker, S., Tomlinson, M., Hughes, C., Ward, C. L., Osafo, J., Sikander, S., Fearon, P., Dunne, M. P., Madrid, B., Baban, A., Van Thang, V., Fernando, A. D., & Murray, A. L. (2021). What Research Questions Should the Next Generation of Birth Cohort Studies Address? An International Delphi Study of Experts. Academic Pediatrics, 21(1), 43-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2020.03.011

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abstract = "Objective: Birth cohort studies (BCS) have generated a wealth of invaluable basic scientific and policy-relevant information on a wide range of issues in child health and development. This study sought to explore what research questions are currently a priority for the next generation of BCS using a 3-round Delphi survey of interdisciplinary experts. Methods: Twenty-four (Round I, N = 17; Round II, N = 21; Round III, N = 18) experts across a wide range of fields (eg, psychology, public health, and maternal/child health) agreed to participate. In Round I, the expert panel was invited to freely respond to the question, “what are the key scientific questions future birth cohort studies should address?” Content analysis of answers was used to identify 47 questions for rating on perceived importance by the panel in Round II and consensus-achieving questions were identified. Questions that did not reach consensus in Round II were posed again for expert re-rating in Round III. Results: Twenty six of 47 questions reached consensus in Round II, with an additional 6 reaching consensus in Round III. Consensus-achieving questions rated highly on importance spanned a number of topics, including environmental effects on child development, intergenerational transmission of disadvantage, and designing BCS to inform intervention strategies. Conclusion: Investigating the effects of family/environmental factors and social disadvantage on a child's development should be prioritized in designing future BCS. The panel also recommended that future BCS are designed to inform intervention strategies.",

keywords = "birth cohort studies, consensus, Delphi method, research priorities",

author = "Brown, {Ruth Harriet} and Manuel Eisner and Sara Valdebenito and Susan Walker and Mark Tomlinson and Claire Hughes and Ward, {Catherine L.} and Joseph Osafo and Siham Sikander and Pasco Fearon and Dunne, {Michael P.} and Bernadette Madrid and Adriana Baban and {Van Thang}, Vo and Fernando, {Asvini D.} and Murray, {Aja L.}",

note = "Funding Information: Financial statement: This work was supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund (grant number: GCRF01 ). Funding Information: We are grateful to the University of Edinburgh College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences SFA ODA Global Challenges Fund for funding the current research. In addition, we are grateful to Dr Charlotte Hanlon, Dr Jena Hamadani, Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Professor Guenther Fink, Dr In{\'a}cio Crochmore, Professor Jane Fisher, Professor Lynne Murray, Professor Kathy Sylva, Dr Santiago Cueto, Professor Theresa Betancourt, and the other anonymous experts who formed our expert panel. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020",

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Brown, RH, Eisner, M, Valdebenito, S, Walker, S, Tomlinson, M, Hughes, C, Ward, CL, Osafo, J, Sikander, S, Fearon, P, Dunne, MP, Madrid, B, Baban, A, Van Thang, V, Fernando, AD & Murray, AL 2021, 'What Research Questions Should the Next Generation of Birth Cohort Studies Address? An International Delphi Study of Experts', Academic Pediatrics, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 43-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2020.03.011

TY - JOUR

T1 - What Research Questions Should the Next Generation of Birth Cohort Studies Address? An International Delphi Study of Experts

AU - Brown, Ruth Harriet

AU - Eisner, Manuel

AU - Valdebenito, Sara

AU - Walker, Susan

AU - Tomlinson, Mark

AU - Hughes, Claire

AU - Ward, Catherine L.

AU - Osafo, Joseph

AU - Sikander, Siham

AU - Fearon, Pasco

AU - Dunne, Michael P.

AU - Madrid, Bernadette

AU - Baban, Adriana

AU - Van Thang, Vo

AU - Fernando, Asvini D.

AU - Murray, Aja L.

N1 - Funding Information: Financial statement: This work was supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund (grant number: GCRF01 ). Funding Information: We are grateful to the University of Edinburgh College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences SFA ODA Global Challenges Fund for funding the current research. In addition, we are grateful to Dr Charlotte Hanlon, Dr Jena Hamadani, Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Professor Guenther Fink, Dr Inácio Crochmore, Professor Jane Fisher, Professor Lynne Murray, Professor Kathy Sylva, Dr Santiago Cueto, Professor Theresa Betancourt, and the other anonymous experts who formed our expert panel. Publisher Copyright: © 2020

PY - 2021/1

Y1 - 2021/1

N2 - Objective: Birth cohort studies (BCS) have generated a wealth of invaluable basic scientific and policy-relevant information on a wide range of issues in child health and development. This study sought to explore what research questions are currently a priority for the next generation of BCS using a 3-round Delphi survey of interdisciplinary experts. Methods: Twenty-four (Round I, N = 17; Round II, N = 21; Round III, N = 18) experts across a wide range of fields (eg, psychology, public health, and maternal/child health) agreed to participate. In Round I, the expert panel was invited to freely respond to the question, “what are the key scientific questions future birth cohort studies should address?” Content analysis of answers was used to identify 47 questions for rating on perceived importance by the panel in Round II and consensus-achieving questions were identified. Questions that did not reach consensus in Round II were posed again for expert re-rating in Round III. Results: Twenty six of 47 questions reached consensus in Round II, with an additional 6 reaching consensus in Round III. Consensus-achieving questions rated highly on importance spanned a number of topics, including environmental effects on child development, intergenerational transmission of disadvantage, and designing BCS to inform intervention strategies. Conclusion: Investigating the effects of family/environmental factors and social disadvantage on a child's development should be prioritized in designing future BCS. The panel also recommended that future BCS are designed to inform intervention strategies.

AB - Objective: Birth cohort studies (BCS) have generated a wealth of invaluable basic scientific and policy-relevant information on a wide range of issues in child health and development. This study sought to explore what research questions are currently a priority for the next generation of BCS using a 3-round Delphi survey of interdisciplinary experts. Methods: Twenty-four (Round I, N = 17; Round II, N = 21; Round III, N = 18) experts across a wide range of fields (eg, psychology, public health, and maternal/child health) agreed to participate. In Round I, the expert panel was invited to freely respond to the question, “what are the key scientific questions future birth cohort studies should address?” Content analysis of answers was used to identify 47 questions for rating on perceived importance by the panel in Round II and consensus-achieving questions were identified. Questions that did not reach consensus in Round II were posed again for expert re-rating in Round III. Results: Twenty six of 47 questions reached consensus in Round II, with an additional 6 reaching consensus in Round III. Consensus-achieving questions rated highly on importance spanned a number of topics, including environmental effects on child development, intergenerational transmission of disadvantage, and designing BCS to inform intervention strategies. Conclusion: Investigating the effects of family/environmental factors and social disadvantage on a child's development should be prioritized in designing future BCS. The panel also recommended that future BCS are designed to inform intervention strategies.

KW - birth cohort studies

KW - consensus

KW - Delphi method

KW - research priorities

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DO - 10.1016/j.acap.2020.03.011

M3 - Article

C2 - 32272232

AN - SCOPUS:85085046830

SN - 1876-2859

VL - 21

SP - 43

EP - 52

JO - Academic Pediatrics

JF - Academic Pediatrics

IS - 1

ER -

What Research Questions Should the Next Generation of Birth Cohort Studies Address? An International Delphi Study of Experts

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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Cite this