Follow-up studies, designs, analysis and reporting

Follow-up studies as contrasted to follow-up programmes and clinics should be conceptualized and conducted as rigorously as any research effort. This rigour entails careful delineation of the question being addressed with explicit underlying pathogenetic or theoretical frameworks for causality, selection and implementation of valid and reliable data-collection methods, and appropriate analysis and reporting. While follow-up activities may address several objectives, routine clinical follow-up has not produced a rigorous and informative literature on the outcomes of very tiny babies. Future efforts should be directed to improving and broadening the outcomes assessed.