Join a study
Group Health Center for Health Studies (CHS) often seeks Group Health members and others to serve as study participants. Those who participate are helping Group Health to evaluate innovative ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent disease. It's all part of Group Health's mission to improve health care for everybody.
The Center is currently looking for people to participate in the following research projects:
- AVIS (Acetaminophen Before Vaccines for Infants Study)
- Does It Hurt Here (Chronic Low Back Pain Study)
- Seasonal Flu Vaccine in Pregnant Women Study
- Sleep and memory loss
- Tdap Vaccine Research Study
- Smoking-related research
Research at Group Health is reviewed by oversight committees that include Group Health staff and consumers. These committees ensure that:
- All studies have scientific merit
- All studies are consistent with Group Health's mission
- Study participants are informed of the risks and benefits of research
- Study participants give their informed consent to be part of the research
Participants' privacy and rights are protected. Researchers follow strict standards to guard the privacy of medical records and study information.
Participation is strictly voluntary. When people decide not to participate in a study, it doesn't affect their care at Group Health in any way.
If you qualify for one of the studies that's currently recruiting participants, please consider taking part. And, if you know others who might be interested, please pass the word.
AVIS (Acetaminophen before Vaccines for Infants Study)
The purpose of this study is to find out whether giving acetaminophen (the medicine in Tylenol®) before babies receive their 2, 4 and 6 month vaccinations is helpful in preventing fever or other vaccine-related symptoms. We will also try to learn whether use of acetaminophen reduces the infant's use of medical services, parents' time lost from work, and sleep lost by parents and infants within a day of vaccination.
Who can participate?
Healthy babies more than 6 weeks but less than 10 months of age who will be seen at a Group Health clinic and receive 2 or more vaccinations at a clinic visit are eligible for the study.
What is involved?
If you and your baby take part in this study, we will send you a bottle of liquid medication. This bottle will contain either acetaminophen or a placebo (a liquid that doesn't have any medicine in it). We will ask you to give your baby one dose at a regularly scheduled vaccine appointment, and up to four more doses within 24 hours afterward.
We will ask you to fill out a study diary on the day of vaccination and the next day. You will record the times you gave study medication, and also answer a few questions about whether your baby was fussy and how much your baby slept the night after receiving vaccines. You will receive a free thermometer. We will ask you to take your baby's rectal temperature up to 5 times (if your baby is awake) and record that information. You will mail the study diary back to us, and we will call you if we have any questions about it.
Lisa Jackson, MD, MPH, Senior Investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies, is the lead investigator for the study.
If you might be interested in participating and would like more information about the AVIS, call us at 206-287-2058 or toll-free at: 1-800-754-4951.
To view the study forms see the AVIS study on our Study Information and Forms page.
Seasonal Flu Vaccine in Pregnant Women Study
This research study will evaluate two licensed influenza (flu) vaccines in pregnant women. The main purpose of the study is to find out more about the immune response to the yearly flu vaccine in pregnant women. The study will also look at the safety of the vaccines in pregnancy for women and their babies.
What is influenza, or "flu"? The influenza virus (a germ) causes influenza or "flu", an infection of the breathing passages and lungs. Flu is a disease caused by different types of influenza viruses. Influenza is spread from person to person mainly through coughing and sneezing.
In pregnant women, flu may cause complications like pneumonia (infection of the lungs) or hospitalization. In the United States it is recommended that all women get inactivated (killed) flu vaccine if they are going to be pregnant or deliver a baby during the flu season. This recommendation has been in place since the 1990s. However, there are only a few studies that have measured the amount of antibodies a pregnant woman makes after getting the flu vaccine.
Who can participate? Women who are between 18 and 39 years of age and who are in the 14th to 37th week of their pregnancy can participate. There are certain conditions and circumstances that may make you ineligible for this study.
What is involved? If you choose to participate and are enrolled in the study, you will be assigned to receive one of the two study flu vaccines at your first visit. The two influenza vaccines that will be given in this study were available last fall and winter, for the 2008/2009 influenza season.
You will be asked to return 4 weeks later for a final in-person study visit. Both study visits include a blood draw. There are also 4 planned study phone calls during the 6–8 months following study enrollment. In addition, study staff will review your labor and delivery medical records to collect additional information on the delivery and the health of you and your baby.
You will be paid for completed clinic visits, up to $200 total.
Lisa Jackson, MD, MPH, Senior Investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies, is the lead investigator for the study.
If you might be interested in participating and would like more information about the Seasonal Flu Vaccine in Pregnant Women Study, call us at 206-287-2061 or toll-free at 1-866-883-6772.
To view the study forms see the Seasonal Flu Vaccine in Pregnant Women study on our Study Information and Forms page.
Sleep and memory loss
Caring for someone with memory loss and sleep problems?
Group Health Center for Health Studies and the University of Washington School of Nursing are evaluating treatments that may help with nighttime sleep and behavior problems in people with a diagnosis of dementia or severe memory loss.
Participants are randomly assigned to one of four treatment programs for two months, with three or six visits from a therapist. Both the person with memory loss and their caregiver are interviewed three times for about one hour. All study visits are done in the home.
To learn more, call Amy at 206-616-5550 or toll free 1-866-292-4464.
Tdap Vaccine Research Study
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether giving a woman pertussis ("whooping cough") vaccine in the third trimester of pregnancy increases the level of pertussis antibodies in the baby in the first few months of life. The vaccine used in this study is Adacel vaccine, which is a licensed tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine. The antibody response will be assessed by blood tests.
This study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Group Health leads a vaccine unit in Seattle that is called a VTEU (Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit). The Seattle VTEU is part of the network of eight VTEUs in the United States. The VTEU network is funded by the NIH in order to conduct studies of new vaccines for children and adults.
Who can participate? Pregnant women 18–45 years of age who are in good general health can be in the study. There are certain conditions and circumstances that may make you ineligible for this study.
What is involved? Over a period of about 15 months, this study involves 4 study visits for the mother, 3 study visits for the baby, and periodic telephone calls to ask about the mother and baby’s health.
Women who participate in this study will be assigned randomly to one of two groups. The first group will receive Tdap vaccine in the third trimester of pregnancy. The second group will receive Tdap vaccine after delivery. Blood tests will be done to identify the levels of pertussis antibodies in the women during and after pregnancy and in their babies in the first 13 months of life.
You may be paid to participate in the study.
Lisa Jackson, MD, MPH, Senior Investigator at the Center for Health Studies, is the lead investigator for the study.
If you might be interested in participating and would like more information about the Tdap Vaccine Study, call us at 206-287-2061 or toll-free at 1-866-883-6772.
To view the study forms see the Tdap Vaccine Study on our Study Information and Forms page.
If you are currently enrolled in a CHS study and are looking for study forms, please see our Study Information and Forms page.
If you would like to know where CHS' research clinic is located, please see our Driving Directions to CHS Clinic page.