National Children's Study Rhode Island held a kick-off event in the city on Monday.
Organizers are looking for eligible women and their families from Pawtucket to participate in what they're calling a "historic study on children's health."
Several community representatives, including Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien, pledged to work with the study, community support that Rhode Island Principal Investigator Stephen Buka said is central to the mission of the study.
The National Children's Study is the largest long-term study of children's health and development ever conducted in the United States, and Rhode Island is one of only 30 sites selected to participate in its initial phase.
Parts of the city were randomly selected to be included in the effort to be conducted by Women and Infants' Hospital of Rhode Island and Brown University.
"We have real concerns about childhood health issues. Here in Pawtucket we know that between 2004 and 2008, 12 percent of all children were born pre-term," said Buka. "We know that out of every 1,000 Pawtucket children, 2.6 were hospitalized for asthma."
Buka said these facts are known to be true, but no one knows why.
"What impact, for example does air, water, diet, family dynamics and community or cultural influences have on a child's health?" he said. "We'll be looking at issues such as birth defects and pregnancy-related problems, injuries, asthma, obesity, diabetes, behavior and mental health disorders."
The Children's Study is being led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Across the country, other study centers will be working with women and families in other communities as part of the largest, most detailed research study focused on children's health and development in the history of the United States, according to a news release.
By tracking children's development through infancy, childhood, and early adulthood, the hope is to determine the root causes of many childhood and adult diseases.
"The National Children's Study is looking at some the same concerns many of us have about our children," said Ray Lavoie, executive director of the Blackstone Valley Community Center.
"We are constantly looking for the best way to help keep our children healthy," Lavoie later added. "That's why I'm so pleased to stand here today with representatives from the National Children's Study. This important work will help us find some of the answers to many questions about children's health today, answers that will make a difference in children's health for generations to come."
