Implementation of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project in Italy.

Area of Science:

• Maternal and Child Health
• Pediatric Research
• Global Health Initiatives

Background:

• Turin, Italy, served as a European site for the INTERGROWTH-21st Project, a large-scale international study on fetal and newborn growth.
• The study involved data collection from two major obstetric hospitals, representing a significant portion of the city's annual births.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the methodology and recruitment strategies employed at the Turin site for the Newborn Cross-Sectional Study (NCSS) and Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study (FGLS).
• To identify and address challenges encountered during the recruitment phase of the FGLS.

Main Methods:

• Participant recruitment for the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study (FGLS) was conducted through ten antenatal clinics affiliated with the city's largest obstetric hospital.
• Strategies to enhance participation included securing endorsement from the city's antenatal care service and disseminating project information via posters and leaflets.
• The Newborn Cross-Sectional Study (NCSS) sample was drawn from two obstetric hospitals, covering 79% of annual births.

Main Results:

• Initial recruitment for the FGLS faced challenges due to a high prevalence of smoking and participants over 35 years old.
• Expanding recruitment to six additional clinics significantly increased the pool of eligible women.
• These expanded efforts led to a marked improvement in the FGLS recruitment rate.

Conclusions:

• The Turin site successfully adapted its recruitment strategies to overcome initial challenges in the INTERGROWTH-21st Project.
• Effective community engagement and expanded clinical outreach were crucial for improving participant recruitment in a diverse urban population.
• The study highlights the importance of flexible and adaptive recruitment methods in large-scale international health research.