ICAR Research Data Repository for Knowledge Management

This dataset represents a group of paper records (a "series") within the Harvard School of Public Health Longitudinal Studies of Child Health and Development records, 1918-2015 (inclusive), 1930-1989 (bulk), which can be accessed on-site at the Center for the History of Medicine at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. The series consists of raw, analyzed, assessment, summarized, and coded research data generated during the original study of the Harvard School of Public Health Longitudinal Studies of Child Health and Development. Research focused on numerous areas, including: social and psychological functioning; health, social, and psychological histories; diet and nutrition; anthropometric measurements and physical development; illness; and various other topics.

Social and psychological research data was generated on subjects and families, and includes: subject observation and examination forms and summaries; social ratings and scores; interview transcripts, summaries, and analyses; various psychological and medical tests; and drawings and paintings by subjects. Health, social, and psychological histories consist of: subject and family health, illness, and social histories; health and development progress reports; physical and medical examination records; psychological reports; social work diagnoses; and various analyzed data charts. Diet and nutrition data includes: nutrition histories; dietary intake worksheets; nutrient count estimates; and feeding schedules. Physical development and anthropometric data consists of: growth curves and percentile charts; anthropometric and x-ray examination index cards; tables and charts; and physical characteristic family trees. Physical development data also includes photographic prints, negatives, and slides of subjects and their families, including: progressive full-body somatotype and leg images taken annually and biannually between ages 0 and 18; full-body images taken at various intervals during childhood and adolescence; and standalone somatotype and posture images. Illness data primarily consists of: forms, tables, and charts; illness scores and ratings; and illustrated family physical characteristic trees with transparent illness overlays. Series also includes: data concerning basal metabolism, gynecology, physical activity, dental health, and skeletal development; administrative records associated with the research data; and occasional audio recordings, possibly of subject interviews.

Attached to the "Data and Associated Administrative Records, 1930-1989" dataset are files, digitized from their original paper copies, that serve as examples of the records that may be found in the series. Additional data and associated records are accessible onsite at the Center for the History of Medicine per the conditions governing access described below.

Conditions Governing Access to Original Collection Materials: The series represented by this dataset includes longitudinal patient information that is restricted for 80 years from the most recently dated records in the collection, personnel information that is restricted for 80 years from the date of record creation, and Harvard University records that are restricted for 50 years from the date of record creation. Please note: audio recordings are restricted to access until such a time as they can be converted to digital media. Once converted, they will be restricted based on the restrictions for the folder in which the recording is housed, or by the recording contents. Researchers should contact Public Services for more information.

The Harvard School of Public Health Longitudinal Studies of Child Health and Development records were processed with grant funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, as awarded and administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) in 2016. An online finding aid to the collection may be accessed here: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HMS.Count:med00211