Frequently Asked Questions
What is the study about?
We will be asking questions about how individuals feel about the neighborhood where they live, some general questions about their health and experiences, and about their behaviors.
What is the purpose of this study?
This study will help researchers understand the reasons for differences in health, well-being, and behavior in various Detroit neighborhoods.
How are individuals chosen to participate in the study?
Persons will be chosen at random from all over Detroit. If you are a resident of Detroit then you have a chance of being in the study. If you are chosen you will first receive a letter and then a phone call from us.
What does a person need to do to participate?
We will be contacting individuals by telephone every year for three years starting in 2008. We ask them to complete a telephone survey at three different times over the next three years. Having them take the survey each year will help us see if their experiences and health conditions change over time. We also ask that they provide a blood/saliva sample. We are doing these blood/saliva tests to assess overall health.
How long will it take?
The survey usually takes about 40 minutes. We will also schedule a time that is convenient for a clinician to go to their residence to take the blood/saliva sample. This should only take about 10 minutes.
Will anyone find out about the answers people give to their questions?
Everything they say will be held completely confidential. No one within the University of Michigan research team or our research partners at Abt SRBI, Inc, will have the information except on an absolute need-to-know basis. Answers will be kept separate from contact information in a password protected, encrypted database. When the results are made public, answers to surveys will be grouped together anonymously and names and addresses will never be in any study reports. In addition, we will do everything we can to keep others from learning about their participation in the research. To help us protect their privacy, the investigators have obtained a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health.
Will individuals be paid for participating in the study?
Individuals can receive up to $160 for participating in all parts of the study over the three year period. A check is sent to them in the mail after they complete each part of the study.
How does one know that this is a true survey?
This is a legitimate research survey being conducted for the University of Michigan. The person can speak with someone about the survey, by calling toll free 1-888-812-9285 and asking for the supervisor for the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study.
Do people have to participate? What if they don’t want to answer something?
No one has to be in this study if they don’t want to. Anyone who starts the study can decide to stop at any time or they can choose not to answer individual questions if they’d prefer not to.