Margaret Ann is part of a birth cohort study. She remembers her mother mentioning the study but thought that she was being recruited because of her weight. She now thinks she was randomly selected to the study. Her childhood was dominated by doctors; visits and being bullied so she does not remember taking any tests at school as part of the study. However, she and her husband, who was part of the same cohort study, have had two questionnaires to complete over the years which had questions about the activities they took part in outside the home, what they read and what television programmes they watched. In the 1990’s, she remembers someone from the study came to her home and took her height and weight measurements and asked her questions about her health and diet.

Margaret Ann continues to participate in the study because she is interested in the differences between her and her grandchildren’s generational experiences. She finds it interesting how her generation had a greater sense of community and believes that her generation had a greater work ethic than today’s generations, which she thinks may be of interest to researchers. She is happy to complete questionnaires if her participation will help inform the education and lifestyle of future generations.

As Margaret Ann has been part of a birth cohort study, she has been invited onto other medical research projects. Her initial reaction when being invited was positive as she believes that her participation may help other people, particularly younger generations. This positive attitude towards research has also led her to take part in other projects, most recently one about people with weight issues.

Margaret Ann’s message to those who have been invited to take part in medical research is, “Why would you not do it?” She believes that research involvement is the way to make a difference and, in relation to the cohort study, she believes that it is a way for others to understand her generation and what they went through.

Interview conducted in 2019.