WELCOME TO THE
Detroit Neighborhood Health Study
About Our Study
The Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (DNHS), conducted by the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, is a 5-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
New epidemiologic data suggests that where we live can influence our health. This evidence suggests that the quality of the neighborhood environment, including for example the quality of local buildings, streets, and the extent to which neighbors talk to one another, contributes to the development of disease processes and to the health of residents of cities. However, there are very few studies that have been conducted that aim to carefully study the links between the quality of neighborhoods citywide and the health of local residents in general, and even fewer that have focused on the mental health and well-being of local residents in particular.
This project aims to study all of the neighborhoods in Detroit in two ways. First, we will randomly select a group of about 1,500 residents of Detroit. All participants who are selected at random will be contacted by mail and asked to participate. Those who agree to participate will take part in a survey and provide a small blood sample and will be followed every year for at least the next three years.
Second, we will be systematically assessing the neighborhood environment using standardized instruments each year for the next several years. At the end of the project we hope to be able to identify both the linkages between specific features of the neighborhood environment and mental health and well-being of Detroit residents, and also to identify specific biologic mechanisms that explain why we are seeing these associations. See our ‘Neighborhood Assessments’ page for more information regarding this portion of the study.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
We’re Making News!
We are pleased to announce that we, along with our research partners at Wayne State University, Harvard University, Columbia University and University of Tubingen in Germany, are making news with a paper that was just published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Sandro Galea was interviewed recently on National Public Radio about the paper, Epigenetic and immune function profiles associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. Lead author Dr. Monica Uddin can be seen discussing the study in the University of Michigan news service podcast at: http://www.ns.umich.edu/podcast/vodcast.php.
Phase 2
Phase 2 survey collection was completed on April 12th with 1,588 surveys. Specimen collection will continue through May and into June. If you are a participant and have not already scheduled a home visit, please call the Scheduler at 734 647 8438. Please leave us a confidential voice message if we are not available.
Health in the City Symposium
Click on the links below to view the four slide presentations from our first annual DNHS mini-Symposium, “Health in the City”, held Thursday, December 3, 2009.
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2-health-in-the-city_dr-arnetz_wsu
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