Rafi and Iram are part of two cohort studies which they joined when they had their first child 3 years ago. They are unsure which parts of their participation are for each cohort study, as the two have blurred together over time. Rafi and Iram were asked to join the studies through a friend of Rafi’s. Their initial participation involved Iram donating some hair and providing her weight and height. They also filled out a questionnaire. Iram said that, at the time, she was very happy to provide the samples. They have participated at different times and different locations. They have not received any feedback from the studies but would like to have summaries of what the research teams have found.

Rafi and Iram were motivated to join the studies because they thought they might see some changes in the community for their next child. They have not seen any differences come out of the research yet but are choosing to continue participating. Iram says that she has had help from a research team member with her children. The team member visits Iram once a week and she takes her height and weight. They also talk about Iram’s wellbeing and her child’s health.

Rafi thinks that Iram was chosen to take part in the study because she lives with a couple of mental health conditions. They thought that by joining the study they might get some help with Iram’s mental wellbeing. Since participating, Rafi thinks that he has seen a difference in Iram’s mental health. This is because, before joining the study, Iram would spend much of her time at home and the research has provided her the opportunity to go outside more often.

Rafi thinks that taking part in cohort studies is good for everybod because researchers can find out why certain groups of people are living with certain illnesses. Iram is motivated to continue her participation to find out about her own body and her illnesses. As Iram’s first language is Pashto, she sometimes struggles to understand the consent and information forms that she is given. However, Rafi is usually around to translate, but she would prefer if the forms were translated for her. Rafi would like more information about what the cohort studies are doing and why they are doing it.

Interview conducted in 2019.