Ethics approval for a national postal survey: recent experience

Abstract

We wanted to mount a postal survey in all parts of England and Wales of a national sample of children who were born in 1988 and were stratified by birth weight. After identifying the children from birth registration and tracing them through the NHS central register, we planned to send self administered questionnaires to the children's parents, general practitioners, and teachers. We identified 162 local research ethics committees in England and Wales from the Medical Research Ethics Committees Directory.1 Each was sent a letter outlining the project and asking how an application should be made.