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Peters ES, Rung AL, Bronson MH, Brashear MM, Peres LC, Gaston S, Sullivan SM, Peak K, Abramson DM, Fontham ETH, Harrington D, Oral E, Trapido EJ. The Women and Their Children's Health (WaTCH) study: methods and design of a prospective cohort study in Louisiana to examine the health effects from the BP oil spill. BMJ Open 2017; 7:e014887. [PMID: 28698324 PMCID: PMC5734424 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill is the largest marine oil spill in US history. Few studies have evaluated the potential health effects of this spill on the Gulf Coast community. The Women and Their Children's Health (WaTCH) study is a prospective cohort designed to investigate the midterm to long-term physical, mental and behavioural health effects of exposure to the oil spill. PARTICIPANTS Women were recruited by telephone from pre-existing lists of individuals and households using an address-based sampling frame between 2012 and 2014. Baseline interviews obtained information on oil spill exposure, demographics, physical and mental health, and health behaviours. Women were also asked to provide a household roster, from which a child between 10 and 17 years was randomly selected and recruited into a child substudy. Telephone respondents were invited to participate in a home visit in which blood samples, anthropometrics and neighbourhood characteristics were measured. A follow-up interview was completed between 2014 and 2016. FINDINGS TO DATE 2852 women completed the baseline interview, 1231 of whom participated in the home visit, and 628 children participated in the child's health substudy. The follow-up interview successfully reinterviewed 2030 women and 454 children. FUTURE PLANS WaTCH continues to conduct follow-up surveys, with a third wave of interviews planned in 2017. Also, we are looking to enhance the collection of spatially related environmental data to facilitate assessment of health risks in the study population. In addition, opportunities to participate in behavioural interventions for subsets of the cohort have been initiated. There are ongoing studies that examine the relationship between genetic and immunological markers with mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward S Peters
- Department of Epidemiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Ariane L Rung
- Department of Epidemiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Megan H Bronson
- Department of Epidemiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Meghan M Brashear
- Department of Epidemiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Lauren C Peres
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Symielle Gaston
- Office of Research and Development/National Exposure Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Samaah M Sullivan
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kate Peak
- Department of Epidemiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - David M Abramson
- Program on Population Impact, Recovery, and Resiliency, New York University College of Global Public Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elizabeth T H Fontham
- Department of Epidemiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Daniel Harrington
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Evrim Oral
- Department of Biostatistics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Edward J Trapido
- Department of Epidemiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
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Larson S, Gould DW. Introduction to special section: behavioral health and disasters--planning for the next time. J Behav Health Serv Res 2014; 42:3-5. [PMID: 25344326 DOI: 10.1007/s11414-014-9444-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Larson
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Atlanta, GA, USA
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