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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.
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