Employer Letter
To whom it may concern,
This is to state that the staff of this Research Unit have been following the health and development of about a thousand young people who were born at Dunedin's Queen Mary Maternity Hospital between 1 April 1972 and 30 March 1973. The bearer of this letter is one of those people. Participants in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study have been assessed at the Unit on a regular basis since age 3, and were last seen at age 32 in 2003-2005. Results from the Study have helped to improve health and education services for children, adolescents, young adults and their families, and are of national and international significance.
The latest assessment phase of the Study, when we wish to see as many of our Study participants as possible at age 38, is now under way. I would therefore be grateful if you could make it possible for and, indeed, encourage our Study member presenting this letter to you, to attend the Research Unit at the Dunedin School of Medicine for one whole day, on a date convenient to you. For those not now living in Dunedin (about two thirds of our Study members), sufficient time to travel to Dunedin and home again will also be required.
This Study owes a great deal to the tremendous community support it has received, especially from employers. We are aware our request may cause some inconvenience to you but we hope you will be able to assist on this occasion. With your help, the knowledge we gain from our Study participants will ultimately go a long way towards improving health services for young adults, as well as helping us understand the development of risk for chronic diseases in later life.
If you require any further information or would like to discuss this request, please do not hesitate to contact me (see below). If I am not available at the time, the Research Manager, Dr Sandhya Ramrakha, or some other staff member will be only too pleased to answer any queries you may have.
With grateful thanks in anticipation.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Richie Poulton
DIRECTOR
