Frequently Asked Questions

Your Questions Answered

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How can I join NYC FREE?
Why should I join NYC FREE?
Who can join NYC FREE?
What is the purpose of NYC FREE?
Can I invite others to join NYC FREE?
How long do I have to stay involved/How long is the program?
Will I get paid or recieve compensation?
What are the benefits of participating in NYC FREE?
What health conditions will you study?
What kind of information will I be asked to share?
Will the results from NYC FREE be shared with me?
Can I withdraw from the study at any time? How do I withdraw?
Who are the study sponsors?
How will you protect my privacy?
Who can use my information and/or sample?
What are the risks of participating?
Who can I contact if I have additional questions?
Where can I reset my password?

If you would like to join NYC FREE, you can reach the study team by emailing us at nycfree@nyulangone.org or calling us at 844-743-FREE (3733). You can also join with this link.

Why should I join NYC FREE?

This study will help us understand how the environment affects reproduction. It will allow for future research on fertility, pregnancy, and risk factors for childhood and adult diseases that may lead to better and more effective treatment options and improvement in quality of life.

If you join the study, you will be provided financial compensation, free professional body composition reports, and free professional semen analysis (if applicable).

Who can join NYC FREE?

Anyone between the ages of 18-50 who is:

Biologically able to have a child,
Intending to have a child (or another child) any time in the future, and
Currently living or working in New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens or Staten Island)

What is the purpose of NYC FREE?

Researchers at NYU Langone Health are collecting information to study how lifestyle and environmental factors influence health and fertility.

Can I invite others to join NYC FREE?

Yes! If you invite others to join NYC FREE, they can reach the study team by emailing us at NYCFREE@nyulangone.org or calling us at 844-743-FREE (3733).

How long do I have to stay involved/How long is the program?

The study is expected to continue indefinitely. However, your participation in the study will last until the conclusion of your pregnancy if you or your partner become pregnant. If you undergo any sterilization procedure including removal of your uterus, removal of your fallopian tubes and ovaries, tubal ligation, or vasectomy, or if you decide that you do not wish to have biological children any time in the future, your participation in this study will end at that time.

If you decide to participate, you are free to leave the study at any time. Leaving the study will not interfere with your future care, payment for your health care, or your eligibility for health care benefits.

Will I get paid or recieve compensation?

You will be compensated for taking part in this study. We will pay you using ClinCard, a reloadable MasterCard.

All participants will be provided a report of their body composition at their baseline visit and at subsequent clinic visits.

Participants in Group 1 will be compensated $50 in total for completing the baseline questionnaire and visit and $50 for each subsequent annual questionnaire and visit. This includes completion of physical measurements, and collection of biospecimen samples.

Participants in Group 2:

Will be compensated $100 in total for completing the longer baseline questionnaire and visit and $50 for each semiannual follow-up questionnaire and visit until they conceive;
Will receive a box of 25 pregnancy test strips every 6 months (if applicable);
Will be paid $20 in total for completing and returning each six-month at-home biospecimen collection kit containing monthly urine and (if applicable) semen samples. If participants either (a) choose to use an at-home semen quality testing device (provided by the study) providing immediate results of their semen analysis (e.g., ExSeed) or (b) wish to go to a nearby andrology lab to provide their semen sample (vs. collecting at home) and do not return their 6-month urine collection, they will not receive the $20 payment. Participants who wish to provide their semen sample at a nearby andrology lab will be provided with a roundtrip MetroCard.

What are the benefits of participating in NYC FREE?

You will not directly benefit from research conducted on your samples stored in the research biobank. We hope that future research using the samples and information you provide will help us understand, prevent, treat, or cure the illnesses and conditions studied.

Taking part in this study will not improve your health right now nor will it change anything about your current medical care. You will not receive medical care or other direct benefits from being in the study. You may take pride in being part of a study that will help answer questions about how to improve reproductive health.

What health conditions will you study?

Your samples and information will be used to advance the community’s understanding of fertility, pregnancy, and risk factors for childhood and adult diseases. The long-term goals of the research are to learn how to better understand, prevent, diagnose or treat conditions including infertility, pregnancy complications, and adverse birth outcomes like prematurity and low birth weight. It is not possible to list every future research project. Also, we cannot predict all of the research questions that will be important in the coming years. The more we learn, the better able we will be to ask important questions about environmental exposures during the pre-pregnancy period.

What kind of information will I be asked to share?

We will ask you about your background, your reproductive and general health history, your sleep and activity level, what medications you may be taking, and environmental chemicals you may be exposed to in your everyday life. We will take your height, weight and other body measurements and blood pressure. We will conduct a cognitive assessment to measure processing and problem solving activities. We will also ask you to provide us with biosamples such as blood, urine, saliva hair and semen (if applicable)

Will the results from NYC FREE be shared with me?

Data and samples collected in the study are being used for research purposes only, and most results from this study will not be shared with patients or their medical providers. The only result that will be returned to participants will be the results of the body composition analysis and semen analysis (if applicable). If there is anything that is clinically relevant, we will notify the participants.

Can I withdraw from the study at any time? How do I withdraw?

Yes, you may withdraw at any time for this research study. To withdraw your permission, you can reach out to the Principal Investigator for the study, Dr. Leonardo Trasande (phone: 646-501-2520, email: Leonardo.Trasande@nyulangone.org). If you withdraw your permission, you will not be able to stay in this study.

Who are the study sponsors?

The Division of Environmental Pediatrics, part of the Department of Pediatrics, at NYU Langone Health is funding this study.

How will you protect my privacy?

Information collected in this study is protected health information, or “PHI,” and is protected by federal and state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. In compliance with NYU Langone Health policies and procedures and with HIPAA, only those individuals with a job purpose can access this information.

We will make every effort to protect your privacy by labeling your samples and information only with a code, and keeping the key to the code in a password-protected database. All questionnaires will be completed within our secure electronic database system to enhance security and minimize the risk of loss of confidentiality.

Who can use my information and/or sample?

The research team, including the Principal Investigator, study collaborators, study coordinators, and personnel responsible for the support or oversight of the study can use information and/or sample collected in the study.

What are the risks of participating?

A comprehensive list of all possible risk and discomforts related to this research is included in the full informed consent form. The most common risks experienced include bruising and soreness from blood draws and emotional discomfort from responding to some of the survey questions.

Who can I contact if I have additional questions?

If you have additional questions, you can reach the study team by emailing us at NYCFREE@nyulangone.org or calling us at 844-743-FREE (3733).

Where can I reset my password?

To reset your password, go to the following link here.

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