About Watch Me Grow For Real

The main aim of this project is to track the development and wellbeing of a large group of children born in the South Western Sydney area until they are 3 years old. We are inviting all mothers of babies born at Liverpool hospital between October 2017 and October 2018 to participate in this research study. Once enrolled in the study, you and your child will be invited back to participate by visiting our centre at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months of age. At any time, if you have any concerns about your child’s development and/or wellbeing, you will be able to raise these concerns with us and we will provide you with information and referral options. By following the development of a large group of children in the South Western Sydney area, we hope to better understand the factors associated with child wellbeing and mental health problems. In this way, we seek to improve the future services that are offered to young children and their families in this region.

Visits

At recruitment, we will ask mothers to fill in some questions about themselves, their baby, their baby’s family as well as living circumstances.

The 6, 12, 24 and 36 month visits will take approximately 2.5 hours. Each visit will require mothers and babies to come see us at the Ingham Institute in Liverpool. During each of these visits to the Ingham Institute, your child will participate in a series of tasks appropriate for their age (e.g., looking at images on a screen as we track what they are looking at). You will also be asked to complete some tasks with your child (e.g., playing with your child) and you will be asked to fill out some survey questions. You will be able to stay with your child for the duration of the visit and breaks will be included. Your child’s father may also be asked to fill out questionnaires online, if he is interested in participating.

When your child is approximately 36 months old, some mothers and fathers may be asked to complete a more in-depth assessment of their child’s wellbeing, either in person or on the phone. We may ask you to get your child’s preschool or childcare teacher to complete a questionnaire too.

After each visit at the Ingham Institute, we will thank you for your time with a $40 gift card.

FAQs for Parents

Are there any benefits associated with being in the study?

We cannot guarantee that that you will receive any direct benefits from participating in this study. However, we can help provide you with confidence that your baby is developing on track. We will give you written feedback after every visit so that you know how your child is going. You will be able to raise your concerns with us regarding your child’s development and wellbeing. If we think that your child might need mental health support from the information that you have provided, we will inform you of this and provide you with resources and referral options.

By following up a large group of babies born in the South Western Sydney area, the researchers hope to better understand the factors associated with child wellbeing and mental health problems. In this way, future services can be improved.

Will my information be kept private?

Yes, your contact details will be stored in our password-protected database that only the research team have access to. You and your baby will be given a unique ID code, and all information collected will be stored using this ID code instead of your name. All personal information about you and your child will be protected under current NSW privacy legislation, except as required by law. We will keep information collected for this study until your child turns 25 years old, in accordance with NSW laws. Any person with access to personal information is bound by a duty of confidentiality.

As this is a research-based study, all data we have collected will be analysed by group factors, rather than looking at individual information. Although the results of the research may be published, you and your child will never be identified.

Do I have to participate?

Participation in any research project is voluntary. Should you not wish to participate in this study, your right to decline will be respected and this will have no impact on your medical care, or your child’s care. You are also free to withdraw from the study at any time. Fathers can also choose to decline participation at any time. If so, mothers and children can still choose to continue with the study if they wish to do so.

If you do withdraw your consent during the research project, the researchers will not collect additional personal information from you, although personal information already collected will be retained to ensure that the results of the research project can be measured properly.