NIH Issues Request for Information to seek input about enhancing ECHO science

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program recently released a Request for Information (RFI) to seek input from the scientific community and the general public about enhancing ECHO science.

Through this RFI, the NIH asked for comments on any or all of but not limited to, the following topics:

I. General Topics

• Approaches to promote scientific value while reducing burden on participants and staff in large consortia of parent-child cohort studies that involve primary data collection
• Nimbleness to address public health emergencies in large collaborative consortia of longitudinal studies
• Engagement strategies to enhance recruitment and retention of diverse study populations
• Promotion of diversity of the scientific workforce related to child health

II. Preconceptional Origins of Child Health Outcomes:

• Identifying solution-oriented (“so what”) scientific questions about preconceptional origins of child health outcomes, based on knowledge from pre-clinical, clinical work, and population research
• Strategies for recruiting participants preconceptionally, and retaining through pregnancy into childhood
• Measures and biospecimens from prospective mothers and fathers that cohorts should collect prior to or in early pregnancy
• Ethical considerations regarding study participation of biological and non-biological fathers

The ECHO Program Office held a webinar on May 6, 2021 to discuss the RFI. If you were unable to attend the webinar or would like to view the recording, we are pleased to provide it here:

The ECHO Program Office released a Request for information (RFI) on April 22, 2021 titled “Request for information on enhancing the science for the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program” under notice number NOT-OD-21-108 and extended under notice number NOT-OD-21-129. The purpose of the RFI was to gather input from stakeholders throughout the extramural scientific community and general public regarding the enhancement of ECHO science. The RFI closed on June 08, 2021 after being open for 47 days. ECHO received a total of 23 comments. The linked pdf below summarizes key information provided from the responses about how ECHO could enhance its science. Common themes among the RFI responses included the importance of the ECHO program; reducing burden on ECHO participants and staff; potential engagement strategies for recruiting and retaining diverse study populations; and whether to expand ECHO’s scientific focus to include the preconception period.

Compilation of RFI Responses

Review the RFI Response Summary