Primary Navigation for the CDC Website
CDC en Español

Search:  

News & Highlights

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome > Healthcare Professionals >

Study of CFS in Georgia

On this page:

Introduction

CDC has begun a study of CFS and similar illnesses in 13 counties in Georgia. To conduct the study, interviewers are telephoning a randomly selected sample of 17,000 households. Interviewers begin by asking the selected households a short set of questions to identify household members who may have CFS and similar illnesses.

Some of these household members—both fatigued and not fatigued—will be asked to complete more detailed, telephone interviews. A smaller number of these respondents will be offered clinical evaluations, including free medical examinations. These participants will be compensated for their time and given the results of laboratory tests.

By the time the study ends in September 2005, over 7,000 people will have completed the telephone survey, and more than 700 of these respondents will have visited CDC's clinics in Northeast Atlanta or Macon.

Participation in all aspects of the study, including the telephone screening, is voluntary. CDC and Emory University researchers hope that the vast majority of the households contacted will participate. CDC will use the data to estimate the prevalence of CFS, better pinpoint the exact nature of the symptoms, and eventually develop a cure.

Although the cause of CFS remains unknown, this research program has greatly increased knowledge about CFS and other fatiguing illnesses and has helped the health-care community develop viable treatments.

Frequently Asked Questions

For answers to frequently asked questions, click on the links below.


Which Georgia counties are in the study?
To ensure the study is composed of a diverse population, participants will be selected from DeKalb, Fulton, Bibb, Baldwin, Bleckley, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Macon, Monroe, Peach, Twiggs, and Wilkinson Counties.

Who is Abt Associates?
Abt Associates is a social science research firm that has been contracted by CDC to conduct the telephone survey and clinical evaluations. Since 1988, Abt Associates has assisted CDC with a series of CFS studies. Abt Associates has telephone interviewers in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Hadley, Massachusetts, and field staff across the US.

How did you get my telephone number?
No person or organization provided us with your number, and it will not be released even to CDC. Your number was chosen at random by a computer to represent your geographic area. This method ensures that metropolitan, urban, and rural areas in Georgia will be adequately represented.

Occasionally, the computer selects unlisted numbers. If your number was unlisted, it is still unlisted. Only Abt Associates, the contractor responsible for the survey, knows which telephone numbers were selected, and they will not provide that information to CDC or to other parties.

Does CDC know that I was selected?
Although CDC is sponsoring this study, CDC staff and researchers will not know your name, address, or telephone number(s). CDC's contractor, Abt Associates, has assigned a unique identification number to you. Your answers will be reported to the CDC by that identification number.

I'm not tired. Why do you want me to participate?
We are interviewing people who are fatigued, and we are also interviewing individuals who are not fatigued. Information from people who are not fatigued help us to understand the differences in addition to fatigue and may help us learn more about the causes and symptoms of CFS and similar illnesses. Your participation would really help.

Where are the clinics located?

Someone I know was selected for this study. How can I sign up?
Scientific studies, such as this one, follow strict rules for selecting participants. Unless your telephone number was one that was randomly selected by the computer, you cannot join the study.

Do I have to participate?
Your participation is voluntary. However, CDC needs your help to better understand and help people suffering from CFS and related illnesses. Your telephone number was randomly selected to represent your geographic area and cannot be replaced by another number; thus, we really need your help.

Why am I getting calls about a clinical evaluation?
Based on answers that you provided during the telephone interview, you are eligible for a clinical evaluation. If you participate in the clinical evaluation, you will receive a no-cost physical examination conducted by a physician and results of laboratory tests that can be shared with your medical professional. After you complete the evaluation, you will receive $250 to reimburse you for your time and effort.

How long will this take?
The first stage is a screening interview that lasts about five minutes.

The next stage is a detailed interview. This interview lasts about thirty minutes.

The last stage for this study is the clinical evaluation. If you are selected for this component, the evaluation will last about nine hours. Because the clinical evaluation takes all day, participants are reimbursed for their time and effort.

Can't you pick someone else to take my place?
Your telephone number was randomly selected to represent your geographic area. It cannot be replaced with another. If we replaced phone numbers, we would get biased (or slanted) results, and we would not be able to say that the people selected for this study are representative of the people in Georgia. If you are selected for this study, you will represent hundreds of other people like yourself.

It is equally important that we evaluate the people selected for the clinical evaluation. If you were selected for the study, you cannot be replaced by another individual.

I have more questions. Whom can I call?
If you have any questions about how the study works. If you think that you have been harmed as a result of this study, contact CDC: Dr. James Jones at (404) 639-3532. If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this research study, please contact the office of CDC's Deputy Associate Director for Science, toll-free, at 1-800-584-8814. Please leave a brief message, including your name and phone number. Also, please mention that you are calling in reference to CDC protocol #4121. Someone will return your call as soon as possible.

Page last modified on February 29, 2008

Topic Contents

• Topic Contents

Additional Navigation for the CDC Website

“Safer Healthier People”
 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
Tel: 404-639-3311  •  CDC Contact Center: 800-CDC-INFO  •  888-232-6348 (TTY)