Lessons learnt on recruitment and fieldwork from a pilot European human biomonitoring survey

Ulrike Fiddicke; Kerstin Becker; Gerda Schwedler; Margarete Seiwert; Reinhard Joas; Anke Joas; Pierre Biot; Dominique Aerts; Ludwine Casteleyn; Birgit Dumez; Argelia Castaño; Marta Esteban; Jürgen Angerer; Holger M Koch; Greet Schoeters; Elly Den Hond; Ovnair Sepai; Karen Exley; Lisbeth E. Knudsen; Milena Horvat; Louis Bloemen; Andromachi Katsonouri; Adamos Hadjipanayis; Milena Cerna; Andrea Krsková; Janne Fangel Jensen; Jeanette K S Nielsen; Peter Rudnai; Szilvia Közepésy; Arno C Gutleb; Marc E Fischer; Danuta Ligocka; Joanna Kamińska; M Fátima Reis; Sónia Namorado; Ioana-Rodica Lupsa; Anca E Gurzau; Katarína Halzlová; Darja Mazej; Janja Snoj Tratnik; Teresa C Rivas; Silvia Gómez; Marika Berglund; Kristin Larsson; Andrea Lehmann; Pierre Crettaz; Marie-Christine Dewolf; Damien Burns; Anne Kellegher; Marike Kolossa-Gehring

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2014.08.039

Lessons learnt on recruitment and fieldwork from a pilot European human biomonitoring survey

Ulrike Fiddicke, Kerstin Becker, Gerda Schwedler, Margarete Seiwert, Reinhard Joas, Anke Joas, Pierre Biot, Dominique Aerts, Ludwine Casteleyn, Birgit Dumez, Argelia Castaño, Marta Esteban, Jürgen Angerer, Holger M Koch, Greet Schoeters, Elly Den Hond, Ovnair Sepai, Karen Exley, Lisbeth E. Knudsen, Milena HorvatLouis Bloemen, Andromachi Katsonouri, Adamos Hadjipanayis, Milena Cerna, Andrea Krsková, Janne Fangel Jensen, Jeanette K S Nielsen, Peter Rudnai, Szilvia Közepésy, Arno C Gutleb, Marc E Fischer, Danuta Ligocka, Joanna Kamińska, M Fátima Reis, Sónia Namorado, Ioana-Rodica Lupsa, Anca E Gurzau, Katarína Halzlová, Darja Mazej, Janja Snoj Tratnik, Teresa C Rivas, Silvia Gómez, Marika Berglund, Kristin Larsson, Andrea Lehmann, Pierre Crettaz, Marie-Christine Dewolf, Damien Burns, Anne Kellegher, Marike Kolossa-Gehring

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Within the European Environment and Health Action Plan an initiative to establish a coherent human biomonitoring approach in Europe was started. The project COPHES (COnsortium to Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale ) developed recommendations for a harmonized conduct of a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey which came into action as the pilot study DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale). Seventeen European countries conducted a survey with harmonized instruments for, inter alia, recruitment, fieldwork and sampling, in autumn/winter 2011/2012. Based on the countries' experiences of conducting the pilot study, following lessons learnt were compiled: the harmonized fieldwork instruments (basic questionnaire, urine and hair sampling) turned out to be very valuable for future HBM surveys on the European scale. A school approach was favoured by most of the countries to recruit school-aged children according to the established guidelines and country specific experiences. To avoid a low participation rate, intensive communication with the involved institutions and possible participants proved to be necessary. The communication material should also include information on exclusion criteria and offered incentives. Telephone contact to the participants the day before fieldwork during the survey can prevent the forgetting of appointments and first morning urine samples. To achieve comparable results on the European scale, training of interviewers in all issues of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling through information material and training sessions is crucial. A survey involving many European countries needs time for preparation and conduct. Materials for quality control prepared for all steps of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling proved to be important to warrant reliable results.

Original language	English
Journal	Environmental Research
Volume	141
Pages (from-to)	15–23
Number of pages	9
ISSN	0013-9351
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2014.08.039
Publication status	Published - Aug 2015

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10.1016/j.envres.2014.08.039

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Fiddicke, U., Becker, K., Schwedler, G., Seiwert, M., Joas, R., Joas, A., Biot, P., Aerts, D., Casteleyn, L., Dumez, B., Castaño, A., Esteban, M., Angerer, J., Koch, H. M., Schoeters, G., Hond, E. D., Sepai, O., Exley, K., Knudsen, L. E., ... Kolossa-Gehring, M. (2015). Lessons learnt on recruitment and fieldwork from a pilot European human biomonitoring survey. Environmental Research, 141, 15–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2014.08.039

Fiddicke, U, Becker, K, Schwedler, G, Seiwert, M, Joas, R, Joas, A, Biot, P, Aerts, D, Casteleyn, L, Dumez, B, Castaño, A, Esteban, M, Angerer, J, Koch, HM, Schoeters, G, Hond, ED, Sepai, O, Exley, K, Knudsen, LE, Horvat, M, Bloemen, L, Katsonouri, A, Hadjipanayis, A, Cerna, M, Krsková, A, Jensen, JF, Nielsen, JKS, Rudnai, P, Közepésy, S, Gutleb, AC, Fischer, ME, Ligocka, D, Kamińska, J, Reis, MF, Namorado, S, Lupsa, I-R, Gurzau, AE, Halzlová, K, Mazej, D, Tratnik, JS, Rivas, TC, Gómez, S, Berglund, M, Larsson, K, Lehmann, A, Crettaz, P, Dewolf, M-C, Burns, D, Kellegher, A & Kolossa-Gehring, M 2015, 'Lessons learnt on recruitment and fieldwork from a pilot European human biomonitoring survey', Environmental Research, vol. 141, pp. 15–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2014.08.039

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title = "Lessons learnt on recruitment and fieldwork from a pilot European human biomonitoring survey",

abstract = "Within the European Environment and Health Action Plan an initiative to establish a coherent human biomonitoring approach in Europe was started. The project COPHES (COnsortium to Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale ) developed recommendations for a harmonized conduct of a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey which came into action as the pilot study DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale). Seventeen European countries conducted a survey with harmonized instruments for, inter alia, recruitment, fieldwork and sampling, in autumn/winter 2011/2012. Based on the countries' experiences of conducting the pilot study, following lessons learnt were compiled: the harmonized fieldwork instruments (basic questionnaire, urine and hair sampling) turned out to be very valuable for future HBM surveys on the European scale. A school approach was favoured by most of the countries to recruit school-aged children according to the established guidelines and country specific experiences. To avoid a low participation rate, intensive communication with the involved institutions and possible participants proved to be necessary. The communication material should also include information on exclusion criteria and offered incentives. Telephone contact to the participants the day before fieldwork during the survey can prevent the forgetting of appointments and first morning urine samples. To achieve comparable results on the European scale, training of interviewers in all issues of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling through information material and training sessions is crucial. A survey involving many European countries needs time for preparation and conduct. Materials for quality control prepared for all steps of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling proved to be important to warrant reliable results.",

author = "Ulrike Fiddicke and Kerstin Becker and Gerda Schwedler and Margarete Seiwert and Reinhard Joas and Anke Joas and Pierre Biot and Dominique Aerts and Ludwine Casteleyn and Birgit Dumez and Argelia Casta{\~n}o and Marta Esteban and J{\"u}rgen Angerer and Koch, {Holger M} and Greet Schoeters and Hond, {Elly Den} and Ovnair Sepai and Karen Exley and Knudsen, {Lisbeth E.} and Milena Horvat and Louis Bloemen and Andromachi Katsonouri and Adamos Hadjipanayis and Milena Cerna and Andrea Krskov{\'a} and Jensen, {Janne Fangel} and Nielsen, {Jeanette K S} and Peter Rudnai and Szilvia K{\"o}zep{\'e}sy and Gutleb, {Arno C} and Fischer, {Marc E} and Danuta Ligocka and Joanna Kami{\'n}ska and Reis, {M F{\'a}tima} and S{\'o}nia Namorado and Ioana-Rodica Lupsa and Gurzau, {Anca E} and Katar{\'i}na Halzlov{\'a} and Darja Mazej and Tratnik, {Janja Snoj} and Rivas, {Teresa C} and Silvia G{\'o}mez and Marika Berglund and Kristin Larsson and Andrea Lehmann and Pierre Crettaz and Marie-Christine Dewolf and Damien Burns and Anne Kellegher and Marike Kolossa-Gehring",

year = "2015",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1016/j.envres.2014.08.039",

language = "English",

volume = "141",

pages = "15–23",

journal = "Environmental Research",

issn = "0013-9351",

publisher = "Academic Press",

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T1 - Lessons learnt on recruitment and fieldwork from a pilot European human biomonitoring survey

AU - Fiddicke, Ulrike

AU - Becker, Kerstin

AU - Schwedler, Gerda

AU - Seiwert, Margarete

AU - Joas, Reinhard

AU - Joas, Anke

AU - Biot, Pierre

AU - Aerts, Dominique

AU - Casteleyn, Ludwine

AU - Dumez, Birgit

AU - Castaño, Argelia

AU - Esteban, Marta

AU - Angerer, Jürgen

AU - Koch, Holger M

AU - Schoeters, Greet

AU - Hond, Elly Den

AU - Sepai, Ovnair

AU - Exley, Karen

AU - Knudsen, Lisbeth E.

AU - Horvat, Milena

AU - Bloemen, Louis

AU - Katsonouri, Andromachi

AU - Hadjipanayis, Adamos

AU - Cerna, Milena

AU - Krsková, Andrea

AU - Jensen, Janne Fangel

AU - Nielsen, Jeanette K S

AU - Rudnai, Peter

AU - Közepésy, Szilvia

AU - Gutleb, Arno C

AU - Fischer, Marc E

AU - Ligocka, Danuta

AU - Kamińska, Joanna

AU - Reis, M Fátima

AU - Namorado, Sónia

AU - Lupsa, Ioana-Rodica

AU - Gurzau, Anca E

AU - Halzlová, Katarína

AU - Mazej, Darja

AU - Tratnik, Janja Snoj

AU - Rivas, Teresa C

AU - Gómez, Silvia

AU - Berglund, Marika

AU - Larsson, Kristin

AU - Lehmann, Andrea

AU - Crettaz, Pierre

AU - Dewolf, Marie-Christine

AU - Burns, Damien

AU - Kellegher, Anne

AU - Kolossa-Gehring, Marike

PY - 2015/8

Y1 - 2015/8

N2 - Within the European Environment and Health Action Plan an initiative to establish a coherent human biomonitoring approach in Europe was started. The project COPHES (COnsortium to Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale ) developed recommendations for a harmonized conduct of a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey which came into action as the pilot study DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale). Seventeen European countries conducted a survey with harmonized instruments for, inter alia, recruitment, fieldwork and sampling, in autumn/winter 2011/2012. Based on the countries' experiences of conducting the pilot study, following lessons learnt were compiled: the harmonized fieldwork instruments (basic questionnaire, urine and hair sampling) turned out to be very valuable for future HBM surveys on the European scale. A school approach was favoured by most of the countries to recruit school-aged children according to the established guidelines and country specific experiences. To avoid a low participation rate, intensive communication with the involved institutions and possible participants proved to be necessary. The communication material should also include information on exclusion criteria and offered incentives. Telephone contact to the participants the day before fieldwork during the survey can prevent the forgetting of appointments and first morning urine samples. To achieve comparable results on the European scale, training of interviewers in all issues of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling through information material and training sessions is crucial. A survey involving many European countries needs time for preparation and conduct. Materials for quality control prepared for all steps of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling proved to be important to warrant reliable results.

AB - Within the European Environment and Health Action Plan an initiative to establish a coherent human biomonitoring approach in Europe was started. The project COPHES (COnsortium to Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale ) developed recommendations for a harmonized conduct of a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey which came into action as the pilot study DEMOCOPHES (DEMOnstration of a study to COordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale). Seventeen European countries conducted a survey with harmonized instruments for, inter alia, recruitment, fieldwork and sampling, in autumn/winter 2011/2012. Based on the countries' experiences of conducting the pilot study, following lessons learnt were compiled: the harmonized fieldwork instruments (basic questionnaire, urine and hair sampling) turned out to be very valuable for future HBM surveys on the European scale. A school approach was favoured by most of the countries to recruit school-aged children according to the established guidelines and country specific experiences. To avoid a low participation rate, intensive communication with the involved institutions and possible participants proved to be necessary. The communication material should also include information on exclusion criteria and offered incentives. Telephone contact to the participants the day before fieldwork during the survey can prevent the forgetting of appointments and first morning urine samples. To achieve comparable results on the European scale, training of interviewers in all issues of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling through information material and training sessions is crucial. A survey involving many European countries needs time for preparation and conduct. Materials for quality control prepared for all steps of recruitment, fieldwork and sampling proved to be important to warrant reliable results.

U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2014.08.039

DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2014.08.039

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25454101

SN - 0013-9351

VL - 141

SP - 15

EP - 23

JO - Environmental Research

JF - Environmental Research

ER -

Lessons learnt on recruitment and fieldwork from a pilot European human biomonitoring survey

Abstract

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