eCite Digital Repository

Looking back in time: conducting a cohort study of the long-term effects of treatment of adolescent tall girls with synthetic hormones

Citation

Bruinsma, FJ and Rayner, JA and Venn, AJ and Pyett, P and Werther, G, Looking back in time: conducting a cohort study of the long-term effects of treatment of adolescent tall girls with synthetic hormones, BMC Public Health, 11, (Suppl 5) Article S7. ISSN 1471-2458 (2011) [Refereed Article]


Preview		PDF
123Kb		  

Copyright Statement

© 2011 Bruinsma et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

DOI: doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-S5-S7

Abstract

Objective: Public health research is an endeavour that often involves multiple relationships, far-reaching collaborations, divergent expectations and various outcomes. Using the Tall Girls Study as a case study, this paper will present and discuss a number of methodological, ethical and legal challenges that have implications for other public health research.

Approach: The Tall Girls Study was the first study to examine the long-term health and psychosocial effects of oestrogen treatment for tall stature.

Results: In undertaking this study the research team overcame many hurdles: in maintaining collaboration with treating clinicians and with the women they had treated as girls - groups with opposing points of view and different expectations; using private practice medical records to trace women who had been patients up to forty years earlier; and exploring potential legal issues arising from the collection of data related to treatment.

Conclusions: While faced with complex challenges, the Tall Girls Study demonstrated that forward planning, ongoing dialogue between all stakeholders, transparency of processes, and the strict adherence to group-developed protocols were keys to maintaining rigour while undertaking pragmatic research.

Implications: Public health research often occurs within political and social contexts that need to be considered in the planning and conduct of studies. The quality and acceptability of research findings is enhanced when stakeholders are engaged in all aspects of the research process.

Item Details

Item Type:Refereed Article
Research Division:Health Sciences
Research Group:Epidemiology
Research Field:Epidemiology not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:Health
Objective Group:Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:Preventive medicine
UTAS Author:Venn, AJ (Professor Alison Venn)
ID Code:117453
Year Published:2011
Web of Science® Times Cited:2
Deposited By:Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:2017-06-15
Last Modified:2017-11-07
Downloads:116 View Download Statistics

Repository Staff Only: item control page