What are the benefits of continuing to participate?

Participants in the Australian LOOK study are a very select group. They were selected in grade 2 from the ACT public primary school system as 8 year-olds in 2005. Those 8 year-olds are the only participants in the LOOK study. No other children have ever been added to this Australian longitudinal study. It is a special group whose physical and psychological characteristics have been measured through childhood and adolescence. Not only are we learning about the importance of physical activity and nutrition in the health and wellbeing of young Australians, but we also provide our cohort with assessments of health checks. 

Health checks form a sensible and valuable means of preventing disease. Indeed, even in our young cohort we were fortunate to have identified some potentially life-threatening issues. Fortunately, with early detection, diagnosis and treatment had these issues were resolved.

Benefits of participating in the LOOK study as young adults include an assessment of characteristics relevant to prevention of chronic disease in later life. Participants continue to be involved in a world-recognised longitudinal study, learning more about their own health in early adulthood, and setting up ongoing health monitoring in their later years. Then there is the general contribution to the community through medical science, helping us all understand the extent to which certain aspects of early lifestyle influence our health and well-being in later life. 

There has been and will continue to be absolutely no costs to participants.

Confidentiality

We at the University of Canberra ensure complete confidentiality. Under no circumstances will any of your personal data be shared outside our group of research scientists. Data are stored securely with all names transferred to a number code form only. This means researchers working on the LOOK data can’t identify individual participants. Should any result emerge from the LOOK assessments that is considered an immediate risk to the health and well-being of a participant, there will be confidential notification through direct communication with the participant.  

Ethics

All procedures have been examined by University of Canberra Human Research Ethics Committee and/or at the University involved. These committees are highly experienced in ensuring that all research complies with the highest standards of safety, care, purpose and confidentiality.