Home\For parents
Home For parents

For parents Be a part of improving the quality of life for all children and parents.

With your help, we can find the answers to improve the health and wellbeing of a generation of children and their families.

Over two years, we’re asking parents of newborns across Victoria to be a part of GenV by sharing with us health and development information about themselves and their newborns.

Your information will give us a more complete picture of the health and wellbeing of a whole generation, speeding-up discoveries that benefit not just your child, but every child and their families.

It’s natural to have questions

We’re here to make sure you have everything you need to feel confident and make a decision that suits you.

Get in touch using the link below with any questions or for further information.

Contact us

BE PART OF A HEALTHIER FUTURE Why should I join?

By sharing your information with GenV, you will help researchers find faster and better ways to predict, prevent and treat problems like mental health, obesity, allergies, and more.  These discoveries can improve the quality of life for all children and their families.

Find out more

WHAT'S INVOLVED? What happens if I choose to join GenV?

GenV aims to make things safe and easy for families who participate.  Once you join, our work will happen mostly in the background as we access information and samples that are already collected from a range of services.  From time-to-time, we will follow up about the health, development and wellbeing of you and your child.

Find out more

WHAT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED? Bringing together a more complete picture

Our aim is to create a complete picture of health and wellbeing that leads to discoveries for improving the quality of life for children and parents.  This involves bringing together health, education, mental health and social information, most of which is already collected by other services.

Learn more

WORLD-CLASS INFORMATION SECURITY

How will GenV look after my information?

Your data will be securely stored in our purpose-built repository at The Royal Children’s Hospital. Information that can identify individuals is removed from the research records to ensure privacy. The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute will operate strict ethical controls over who is granted access to the data.

Find out more

IT’S EASY TO JOIN GENV IF YOU CHOOSE TO

How do I join GenV?

We will invite you and your baby to join GenV if you are located at one of our first-stage hospitals. We will have a 15 to 20-minute visit in the hospital where you can ask any questions you like and we will give you everything you need to make sure you understand GenV completely. This includes contact details if you’d like to speak to someone again for more information. To take part in GenV, you must sign a consent form.

Find out more

YOU ALWAYS HAVE CONTROL AND CHOICE Can I change my mind after I join GenV?

Yes, you can change your mind about being in GenV at any time, including after you have chosen to sign up.

More about your options

When is GenV Happening?

When can I choose to join?

In 2020, GenV will start in a small number of Victorian hospitals. You are invited to choose to participate if you are having a baby in one of those hospitals. After 2020, GenV will invite every new parent in the state to join. GenV is for everyone and we hope to include all kinds of families. Wherever you have your baby, you can choose to be a part of GenV.

Find out about the timelines

RESEARCH CREATING HUGE BENEFITS AROUND THE WORLD

Has anything like GenV ever been done before?

In short, no! There has not been an initiative of this scale with an emphasis on child health. Other large-scale studies have demonstrated the benefits of bringing together big numbers of participants and diverse kinds of data. For the first time, GenV extends this principle to include an entire state with families from all backgrounds and puts the focus on children’s health and wellbeing.

Learn more