Frequently Asked Questions

The purpose of ELLAS is to answer questions about reproductive health conditions that affect the Latina/Latinx community. The information from this study will help us to promote the health of the Latina/Latinx community.

ELLAS stands for the Environment, Leiomyomas, Latinas, and Adiposity Study (ELLAS).

People between the ages of 21 and 50 who identify as Latina/Latinx and/or Hispanic and were assigned female sex at birth may be eligible to participate. There will be about 600 participants in this research study.

Latinx is a gender-neutral word used to describe people of Latin American or Hispanic descent.

We will use a study ID number, not your name, to label all of your samples and any information collected from you. Every effort will be made to protect your privacy to the fullest extent possible under the law.

People of any gender identity can participate as long as they were assigned female at birth.

There are many researchers working to understand reproductive health issues in different populations. For this study, we are focusing specifically on the Latin American and Hispanic population.

If you are interested in participating in a different research study, we can collect your contact information and you may be contacted in the future about participating in other research studies at the University of Michigan.

ELLAS is being conducted by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan.

We encourage you to share our information with people you know who may be eligible to participate in ELLAS! Please ask them to call 1-855-753-5527 or send us an email at ELLAS-Study@med.umich.edu and we would be happy to give them more information.

Yes. You do not have to have legal status in order to participate. We have a certificate of confidentiality that protects us and you from the government accessing information about our study participants.

There are no costs to participants, other than your time, for participating in ELLAS.

No, you do not need to have health insurance in order to participate in ELLAS.

Participants will receive $100 for completing the first study visit and $125 for completing the second study visit. During each study visit, if a participant completes some but not all study-related activities, they will receive an initial partial payment of $25. Participants must complete all study-related activities in order to receive the full amount for each study visit.

You will receive personal health information, including:

• Screening for diabetes, anemia, thyroid conditions, and cholesterol
• Height, weight, BMI, and blood pressure results
• Urine pregnancy test results
• Transvaginal and/or abdominal ultrasound results

You can use the health information you obtain and take that to your personal doctor to discuss results. We hope that what we learn from this study will help improve health care in the future.

This project has been developed in collaboration with several partner organizations who have provided insight on the health issues that matter most to the communities that they serve. Our community partners are the Community Health and Social Services (CHASS) Center, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation (DHDC), and Centro Multicultural La Familia (CMLF).

If you have any questions, you can contact the ELLAS research team at 1-734-232-2000, toll-free at 1-855-753-5527, or send us an email at ELLAS-Study@med.umich.edu.