Practice-based research network solutions to methodological challenges encountered in a national, prospective cohort study of mothers and newborns

Summary Correspondence: Henry H. Bernstein, D.O.,Chief, General AcademicPediatrics, DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center,One Medical Center Drive,Lebanon, NH 03756, USA.E-mail:henry.bernstein@hitchcock.org Finch SA, Lalama C, Spino C, Schwartz HC, Wasserman RC, McCormick MC, Bern-stein HH. Practice-based research network solutions to methodological challengesencountered in a national, prospective cohort study of mothers and newborns. Paedi-atric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2008; 22 : 87–98.The emergence of practice-based research networks (PBRN) has facilitated the execu-tion of multifaceted community-based studies.As study complexity increases, so doesthe number of methodological barriers encountered. This paper’s goal was to delineatemethodological barriers and to evaluate the effectiveness of selected strategies andapproaches developed and implemented in allowing a prospective, national PBRNcohort study to succeed in enrolling geographically dispersed mother/healthy terminfant dyads ( n