Taking Part in the Next Wave of CHDS Data Collection
In 1977, you and 1,264 others were born in Ōtautahi Christchurch and your parent(s) agreed to your involvedment in this study. Since then you, your parents, and all others involved in this study shaped what the world knows about health, whānau, work, and wellbeing. Now that you're turning 50, we're opening the next wave of the Christchurch Health and Development Study. We'd love to see you again.
Why a 50-year visit & Why now?
Midlife is one of the least-studied parts of life, but it's where much of what happens later in life starts to take shape. What we learn from you around age 50 will help New Zealanders live healthier, longer lives. For the first time we'll be looking at things like heart health, eye health and bowel screening alongside the questions about life, work, family and wellbeing we've asked before.
To bring so many Study Members to be in-person in Ōtautahi Christchurch takes time. While you might not have had your 50th Birthday by the time you visit with us, that's ok. We are anticipating that it might 2 years for all Study Members to visit with us, so some will likely be 49 years old but then some might be 51 or 52 year old, and that's ok.
What An In-Person Visit Looks Like For Data Collection
When you arrive with us, you'll be welcomed by someone from our team you'll get to know. We'll talk through what the day involves before anything begins. Then at your pace:
- We have a kōrero about your life since we last spoke, covering aspects of work, whānau, health, how you're going.
- You'll do some questionnaires about your health
- We'll take some simple health measurements, things like blood pressure, vision, and a small blood sample.
- There will be time for breaks, kai, and a cup of tea whenever you need it.
You can skip any question, take a break, or stop any time. We'll never share what you tell us with your GP, your family, or anyone else without your permission.
Use the button to visit the next page that provides lots of information about your visit with us for Data Collection
What We'll Talk About During Your Data Collection Day
We ask about life as a whole, to further understand health and wellbeing for you. Some of this will feel familiar from past visits to understand how things have changed; some is new for age 50 as the grounding for future studies. We'll talk about the topics like:
- Your Life Now 🏡 We'll chat about your home, work, studies, whānau, care of children or parents, income, living costs, and how things might have changed how we last connected
- How You're Feeling 🍎 We'll talk about mood, stress, sleep, coping when times have been hard, supports, and ways to manage life
- Your Overall Health 💪🏼 We'll ask about your physical health, diet, exercises, impacts of substance use, and any development of new or previous health conditions
- Impacts of Life Events🌊 We'll ask about events that have shaped you and managing the impacts, like interactions with the justice system, adverse weather events
Some of these topics may feel personal. You can choose not to answer any questions, and our team will be there to support you. We welcome your choice to bring support people with you. We will remind you of opting out of questions at the time. We will do all we can to support you understand our questions and the reasoning for our processes.
We're also including new topics based on feedback from your fellow Study Members. These include:
- Specific health checks for your Heart, Eyes, and Bowels
- Digital Technology Use - particularly social media and digital connectedness
- Attention and Focus (ADHD screening)
In our discussions and once our specialists have initially checked your health/wellbeing measures, if anything adverse comes to light - we will discuss this you and share the information with your GP or relevant health professional for further follow up with them.
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Your Wellbeing During Your Data Collection Day (& Beyond) is Our Priority
Taking part in the study is completely voluntary, and your information is kept confidential. We will remind of our processes to ensure and protect your privacy and confidentiality throughout the data collection process and for the duration we have your data.
Your data is stored securely and only used for approved research.
We’ll provide full information about consent and privacy before you take part. Your involvement in this Wave of Data Collection is voluntary. You can:
- ✅Say yes to some things and no to others.
- 🛑Stop at any time, with no reason needed.
- ⏸️ Take a break whenever you like.
- 👥Bring someone with you for support while you're here. This might be whānau, spouse, child, friend, or carer.
Everything you tell us is confidential. Your name is never attached to the analysed and communicated data. Nothing you tell us goes to your GP or anyone else, unless we discuss it with you first.
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Thought We'd Lost You? We'd Love to Reconnect!
Lots can change in the years between Data Collection Wave, including people's addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, even surnames. If we haven't been in touch, it's almost certainly because we don't have your current details.
It's never too late to get back in touch, and there's no pressure: updating your details doesn't commit you to anything.
Even if you haven't been involved in the study or data collection for years, it's ok. You're still a Study Member and you're still part of the study. We’d really love to reconnect.
Update Your Details or Get in Touch
If your contact details have changed, or even if you’re not sure, we’d love to hear from you.
Staying in touch means we can keep you updated and invite you to take part in future Data Collection Waves
📩 Email: chds.uoc@otago.ac.nz
📞 Phone: +64 3 372 6706
Even a quick message makes a big difference.