A NUMBER of nine-month
old babies from Inishowen are to be studied under
the 'Growing up in Ireland' survey currently being
undertaken by the Economic and Social Research
Institute (ERSI).
The local infants will be among 10,000 babies
nationally to be recruited randomly through the
Child Benefit register. A researcher will visit each
infant’s family in their home to interview the
parents/guardians. Topics covered will include
infant and parent health, pregnancy and birth,
infant development and temperament, parenting,
family relationships, income and socio-demographic
characteristics. In addition interviewers will
record the height and weight of the
parents/guardians, the length and weight of the
infant, and the GPS co-ordinates of the household.
The study is being funded by the Department of
Health and Children in association with the
Department of Social and Family Affairs. The Central
Statistics Office (CSO) and researchers from Trinity
College are also involved.
All the information collected will be treated in the
strictest confidence guaranteed by law. The first
part of the 'Growing up in Ireland' survey dealt
with nine year old children and was also undertaken
in Inishowen.
Researchers from the study, the first and most
important of its kind ever done in Ireland, will
return at intervals to re-assess the Inishowen
children as they grow up. It is hoped the
far-reaching study will improve the understanding of
children and their development. It will also seek to
understand the issues facing Irish families today so
that the research can benefit all children and their
families in Inishowen and other parts of the country
in the future. |
