The Canadian Lifelong Health Initiative (CLHI) is a major cross-cutting initiative involving the potential creation of a research platform, comprised of longitudinal information about a multi-generational cohort. The vision of this platform is to eventually support future studies aimed at examining multiple factors which potentially affect our early development at the conception of life, right up to healthy aging through later phases of life. The CLHI is comprised of two components: 1) The Canadian National Birth Cohort (CNBC); and 2) The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).
Following an international peer-review process, CIHR Governing Council approved a two-year developmental phase for the CLSA component. Through 11 pilot projects, CLSA researchers will assess the feasibility of the project and develop possible research and methodological tools.
Also during this early pilot phase, CIHR is strongly committed to addressing the ELS issues involved with longitudinal cohort studies of this kind. For this purpose, a multidisciplinary Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) Advisory Committee was created in the fall of 2003, and a full time Senior Ethics Policy Advisor has been dedicated to the project.
The Committee is developing a policy framework to provide guidance on several ELS issues, in a modular format:
The remaining priority areas of commercialization and report of research results are targeted to be on the Committee's agenda in the near future.
