Challenges and adaptations (WTP)  

Eligibility and Participation All families with twins born in Wisconsin since 1989 are eligible to participate in the Wisconsin Twin Project. Families are not required to live in Wisconsin. Families with twins born in Wisconsin who move to other states are still able to participate. The findings of this study are accurate only if most of the eligible families participate. Families with twins ages two through eighteen are currently being contacted. If you are eligible and would like more information about the Wisconsin Twin Project, please contact us. Recruitment Typically, families are enrolled with the Wisconsin Twin Project by the time the twins have turned three-years-old. We recruit families with assistance from the Waisman Center's Research Participation Core (RPC), who manages and maintains the Twin Registry database of recruited families. Recruitment guidelines are defined in a data release agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. These guidelines set out explicit rules for contacting families and recruiting them into the Twin Registry. Every six months, we expect to receive about 500 names of twin families from the state Bureau of Health Information and Policy Vital Records Section. We recruit as many families as possible (about 75%) into the studies. Families are invited to join the project by returning a packet of information in response to the RPC Twin Registry mailing (sent shortly after the twins are born). Families who did not receive the initial letter, but have twins who were born in Wisconsin between 1989 and now, and are interested in participating in research may contact us. After families enroll in the Twin Registry, they will be contacted for research participation. The first attempt to contact families currently occurs when the twins are about three years old.