As the new year kicks off, the PROTECT team continues strong participant recruitment of pregnant women in the karst region of Puerto Rico. The study recruitment and consecutive follow-up appointments work towards the goal of understanding environmental exposure and risk factors for preterm birth. Progress in this realm has increased drastically since 2015 thanks to two significant updates to the team’s recruitment infrastructure. First, PROTECT officially opened a clinic space (Figure 1) at Calle Hernandez Carrion E-13 in Manatí, Puerto Rico. This space is in close proximity to the Manatí Medical Center, which allows researchers to interview patient participants in a centralized, familiar location. Second, PROTECT began recruiting participants at two new health centers located in Lares and Camuy. Through December 15, 2016, over 1,250 study subjects have been enrolled
PROTECT and CRECE team members and partners outside the Manatí clinic.
PROTECT’s 2017 Check-In Series kicks off the new year with articles highlighting and reflecting upon the team’s accomplishments and findings since the center began, especially those that have come to fruition in the past year.