Community outreach and engagement strategies from the Wisconsin Study Center of the National Children's Study.

The purpose of this methods article was to describe and evaluate outreach and engagement strategies designed to initially build county-wide awareness and support for the National Children's Study (NCS or the study) and subsequently to target the segment communities where recruitment for the study occurred. Selected principles from community outreach, social marketing, and health care system and personal referral formed the foundation for the strategies. The strategies included a celebration event, community advisory board, community needs assessment, building relationships with health care providers and systems, eliciting a network of study supporters, newsletters, appearances at local young family-oriented events (health fairs, parades), presentations to local community leaders, community forums, "branding" with assistance from a women-owned local marketing firm, and mailings including an oversized, second-touch postcard.

Exploring the environmental and genetic etiologies of congenital heart defects: the Wisconsin Pediatric Cardiac Registry.

Introduction: The Wisconsin Pediatric Cardiac Registry (WPCR) collects information on infants born in the state of Wisconsin with structural congenital heart disease (CHD).

Methods: The WPCR actively ascertains CHD cases in the state of Wisconsin. Cases must be conceived and born in Wisconsin after January 1, 2000.

Modeling geographic risk of complex congenital heart defects in Eastern Wisconsin.

Background: Geographic variation may be an indicator of risk factors for birth defects. This study models the geographic distribution of three complex congenital heart defects (CHDs) in eastern Wisconsin, and evaluates effects of demographic census variables linked to geographic location.

Methods: Cases of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and d-Transposition of the Great Arteries (d-TGAs) born between1995 and 2004 were identified from three medical centers serving eastern Wisconsin.

Effects of a culturally tailored intervention on changes in body mass index and health-related quality of life of Latino children and their parents.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a multicomponent, family-based, culturally tailored intervention for overweight Latino children and their parents.

Design: One group pretest/posttest with clinic comparison group.

Setting: Community health center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.