Health Research Center
Dyslipidemia Detection for WV Families
Study Design
Background:
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Between 1998 when CARDIAC was created and 2003 when the grant was funded, several different CARDIAC Screening procedures had been used to try and improve participation. These included:
- the “fingerstick” approach to screening, where staff obtained a few drops of blood from the child’s finger and tested it immediately for cholesterol,
- the “fasting lipid test” approach, where phlebotomists drew a tube of blood from the child’s arm and sent the blood to the lab for testing, and
- the “voucher” approach, where children received coupons for testing at a lab rather than have any blood testing done at school.
Randomization:
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The research design for the grant was planned using the fingerstick approach. When the grant was awarded, all counties that used the fingerstick were considered for inclusion in the project. Counties were rank ordered from smallest to largest based on the number of eligible 5th graders, and were included until we had approximately 3500 eligible students (12 counties). These counties were randomly assigned to the Standard Condition or Tailored Condition.
Recruitment for Screening:
- The CARDIAC recruitment process for screening 5th graders was as follows:
- School nurses or CARDIAC field staff spoke to students in their classrooms to discuss CARDIAC. The program was introduced using a Teaching Poster and Talking Points.
- Consent forms were distributed for students to take home.
- Students were instructed to return the forms to the school indicating whether they would or would not participate.
- Parents were required to provide written informed consent and the student was required to provide written informed assent to participate.
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