Quality Assurance and Control

All study officers including interviewers and recruitment officers are required to undertake Research Ethics and Compliance Training (an online program for research ethics and compliance education). They are trained by qualified personnel and are required to demonstrate competency in the relevant procedures and questionnaire administration before being certified to perform these procedures and conduct interviews on participants. Study informed consent and all questionnaires are translated into Mandarin, Malay and Tamil languages, and then back translated into English, by a certified translation company. Furthermore, the translated versions are proof-read to ensure the meaning is consistent with the original. A detailed checklist outlining the study inclusion/exclusion criteria is given to the recruitment officers to conduct proper eligibility testing. A pilot study (N=20; 5 of each language) was conducted prior to commencement of the main study to test out PIONEER recruitment strategies and workflow and ensure that all staff are familiar with the examination procedures. The quality of the data collected is checked periodically by the key investigators. Quality control test for BMD is performed everyday using Hologic Anthropomorphic Spine Phantom. Automatic Body Composition Calibration and radiographic uniformity test are done on a weekly basis. All study instruments are serviced annually (or as specified) to ensure accuracy in measurements.