The Queensland Flood Study (QF2011) was initiated to build upon the limitations of the original Project Ice Storm and The Iowa Flood Study. Some of the improvements included:
- Collection of birth biologicals, including placenta and umbilical cord samples, maternal and fetal blood, and maternal and infant saliva;
- A faster start, which was achieved by piggy-backing onto an existing study (M@NGO) that was recruiting women during pregnancy, prior to the Queensland flooding;
- Collection of data before and after the flooding. Since a sub-group of women were recruited from an ongoing study, in which data had been collected pre-flood, we will be able to determine whether maternal pre-flood characteristics influence their flood experiences;
- A larger number of participants.