Database of families interested in research studies now available

University Park, Pa. -- A database comprising a listing of thousands of families living in Central Pennsylvania is available to Penn State researchers for the recruitment of study participants from birth to age 18. The database includes contact information for researchers wishing to conduct research with children and/or their families in Centre County and several surrounding counties.

Information about the database is available at http://firstfamilies.psych.psu.edu/.

The FIRSt Families database was conceived as a university-wide vehicle for researchers to recruit infant and child study participants. Funded by the Child, Youth, and Family Consortium, the FIRSt database is intended to ease the burden on Penn State researchers using human subjects as well as alleviate the burden on families who may be contacted several times to participate in research. Toward this end, the FIRSt database is able to track participation and allow families to control the number of requests for participation.

Contact information is now being collected in the Mother-Baby Unit at the Mount Nittany Medical Center, as well as through birth announcements and other means, resulting in contact information for infants as young as four days of age.Those interested in learning more about the database or possibly using it as a recruitment source for research, please visit the Web site or contact Laureen Teti or Jeanne Alexander Nettles.