If they agreed, arrangements were made for the researcher to visit them in their home where written consent was obtained before conducting the initial interview.
Before the end of the initial interview, the research nurse obtained from the woman some means of contacting her for the postdelivery interview (home and/or mobile telephone number) and established a code for ensuring her safety when calling her in case her partner was nearby.
Information on maternal parity, education, social class, and ethnicity was obtained at the initial interview before pregnancy, and height was measured.
Information on each patient's age, gender, height, weight, waist-to-hip ratio, ethnicity, regular tea intake, sport and activity level, smoking state, alcohol intake, family history of colon cancer and current disease and medication will be obtained from the initial interview before the run-in phase.
The study period was eight weeks in length, during which subjects were assessed at 10 different time points: at the initial interview before receiving any study medication, on study medication day three, on study medication day seven, and once a week thereafter for a total of eight weeks.
Up to two years may elapse between the initial interview and the RSD.
And yet, somehow, the mea culpa is almost as disastrous as the initial interview.
The crucial step in the diagnosis is the initial interview.
