Why did Life Study close?
On October 22nd 2015 the following statement was issued by Life Study and their funders:
"The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) agreed that the Research Councils’ funding for Life Study would be discontinued from early 2016 due to the serious challenges encountered in recruiting participants. Life Study was an ambitious, complex, and innovative study led from University College London (UCL) that aimed to track the development, health and wellbeing of around 80,000 UK babies and their parents.
UCL, ESRC and MRC are very grateful to the participants and all who contributed to Life Study, which has provided useful insights that will benefit future research in child health and wellbeing and will also inform the design of a wide range of research in other areas."
- What will happen now that funding has stopped?
-
Recruitment of mothers, babies and partners for Life Study was stopped in October 2015. Parents and families who were recruited to the study have been contacted. Further information for participants can be found in our Participants Portal here.
- What will happen to Life Study Centres at partner NHS trusts?
-
The Life Study Centres at King George’s Hospital in Ilford and Leicester General Hospital have been returned to our NHS partners for use by their local services.
- What will happen to participants’ information and samples?
-
The information participants have shared and the samples they have donated are being carefully looked after. The Life Study team have worked with partners to ensure the most scientifically valuable use of this information in line with participant expectations and consent.
If you are a participant and would like to find out more please visit our Participants' Portal here.
