Newswise — Researchers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will play leadership roles in the new Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium, as part of the $11 million grant awarded to Northwestern University by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The seven-year national study will explore the impact of exposures on children that range from air pollution, to societal factors, to individual behaviors like sleep and diet.
Northwestern is in charge of the consortium’s Patient-Reported Outcomes Core, which will capture the voices and experiences of more than 50,000 children and family members participating in research at more than two dozen study sites. Patient-reported outcomes involve answers to questions about the physical, mental and social aspects of the child’s environment — rather than data from physical tests or blood work. Co-Principal Investigators at Northwestern are David Cella, PhD, Chair of the Department of Medical Social Sciences, and Richard Gershon, PhD, Professor of Medical Social Sciences and Preventive Medicine.
“This national undertaking of unprecedented scope will allow us to measure how children develop, how they engage with their families and peers, and how their health is affected by their schools and neighborhoods,” said Matthew Davis, MD, MAPP, who will lead the Social Functioning domain team within the Patient-Reported Outcomes Core. Davis is the Associate Chief Research Officer for Health Services Research and Policy and Director of Mary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research Program at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Lurie Children’s, Division Head of Academic General Pediatrics and Primary Care, and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “The insights we will gather will drive efforts to improve children’s health and development early in the life course.”
Experts on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Core team will design the survey methodology and tools, shape the questions used and participate in the comprehensive data analysis. Patient enrollment will start in 2017.“We are excited to support these innovative NIH consortium studies with the state-of-the-art assessment techniques that will lead to results that can be replicated and generalized and inform future child health outcomes research,” said Bradley S. Marino, MD, MPP, MSCE, who will lead the Physical Functioning domain team within the Patient-Reported Outcomes Core. Marino is a cardiac intensivist, Co-Director of the Neo-Heart Developmental Support Program and Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Innovation at the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Lurie Children’s, Director of the Cardiovascular Bridge Programs at Lurie Children’s and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Research at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is conducted through the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. The Manne Research Institute is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Lurie Children’s is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals in the U.S.News & World Report. It is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Last year, the hospital served more than 173,000 children from 50 states and 48 countries.
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