Hard to Contact / Reluctant to Participate Letters

Recipient's Name

Page 2

July 16, 2007

640 North LaSalle Street, Suite 400  Chicago, Illinois USA  60610-3781  312 867-4000 telephone  312 867-4200 facsimile

Form Approved

OMB No.

Expiration Date:

Attachment 18

Hard to Contact/Reluctant to Participate Letter

(8.0 reading level)

DATE

Recipient's Name

Recipient's Address

City, ST ZIP

Dear FIRST LAST,

Recently, your health care provider recommended you for the Registry of Unexplained Fatiguing Illnesses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is conducting this research study. You agreed to be contacted about the study. We appreciate your interest.

We would like to interview you about your health to see if you qualify for the registry. The telephone interview will take about 20 minutes. We have been trying to reach you by phone, but we have not been able to contact you.

Within the next few days, an Abt Associates interviewer will call you again. Abt Associates is the research firm CDC has hired to collect information for this study. If you want to call us at a more convenient time, our toll-free number is 1-800-786-4816.

I hope that you will help with this important study. Many people must limit how much time they spend at work or with family because of fatigue. The economic, social, and emotional costs of this illness are quite high. If you take part, you may find out the reason for your fatigue. If your fatigue cannot be explained and you enroll in the registry, you might be offered the chance to take part in treatment trials. In these trials, CDC will study ways of managing symptoms of fatigue and other symptoms of CFS.

If you have any questions about your rights in this study, call the CDC Deputy Director for Science toll-free at 1-800-584-8814. Please leave a message, and your call will be returned. If you have any other questions about this research study, call Dr. Jim Jones at the CDC. Dr. Jones’ number is: 1-404-639-3748. Please note that this call may be a toll call.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Very truly yours,

Scott Royal

Project Director