LAUSR

An occupational cohort study is the most robust epidemiological design for studying the effects of workplace hazards and the findings can be extended to the general environment. A cohort may be time-consuming, expensive, and labour-intensive to set up but, once done, it can be extended forward in time, as well as laterally to incorporate new outcome variables, and it can also support nested case-control studies. It is therefore important that the human and material investment is preserved so that these valuable resources can be fully exploited. In recent years, the bureaucratic burden on researchers in many countries has increased. In the UK, for example, research ethics, data protection, and data access application procedures have become more cumbersome, with an increase in the number of supporting documents required from researchers. Although fast-track procedures exist, epidemiological studies often require the same formal procedures and oversights as more invasive and potentially dangerous physiological and pharmacological studies. Fortunately, there are now initiatives which support occupational cohort studies. The UK Medical Research Council (MRC), for example, published in 2014 a review and guidance about maximising the value of UK population cohorts and it has also set up a Cohort Strategic Review Group to pre-assess funding applications for new cohorts and for updates to existing cohorts (http://mrc.ukri.org). As another example, OMEGA-NET has been set up to ‘create a network to optimize and integrate occupational, industrial, and population cohorts at the European level’ (http://omeganetcohorts.eu/). We propose that a checklist be defined for assessment of research protocols for new cohorts or updates to existing cohorts, in order to assist official committees in their work and streamline the approval process for both researchers and committees. EPICOH would be well-placed to draft and promulgate such a checklist, working with interested organisations, such as OMEGA-NET and the UK MRC.