An INMA Project participant graduates in Nursing and contributes to improving our research

23/06/2026

Last Saturday, June 6, we celebrated a very special milestone: Sergi, a participant in the INMA Project in Valencia since the prenatal stage, graduated in Nursing, completing an important academic and personal journey.

In addition to finishing his university studies, Sergi wanted to contribute to the INMA Project itself through his Final Degree Project (undergraduate thesis), supervised by researcher Ana Esplugues. To do so, he conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a selection of participants from the Valencia cohort, with the aim of better understanding their experiences, motivations, and expectations regarding their participation in the study.

This work has made it possible to identify some of the factors that support the continued participation of families and young people in the project, as well as to gather suggestions so that the research team can improve the participation experience and contribute to sample retention—an essential aspect for the success of long-term follow-up studies like INMA. The INMA Project follows participants from pregnancy and childhood through adolescence and into young adulthood, providing a unique opportunity to study how early environmental exposures influence health across the life course.

As a result of this process, an initiative has emerged that is already underway: a review of the communication style with participants. The team is currently working on a new campaign that will approach communication from a renewed perspective, making it more approachable and aligned with the interests and needs expressed by the young participants themselves.

In addition, a similar process is planned to be carried out soon with mothers participating in the INMA Project, in order to incorporate their perspective and continue improving communication and participation channels.

From the INMA Project, we would like to congratulate Sergi on his graduation and thank him for his dedication, commitment, and contribution. His work highlights the enormous value of participants, not only as an essential part of the research, but also as active contributors who help us build a better project.