Annual Survey Topics

The Watts Neighborhood Health Study (WNHS) collects survey data from an ongoing cohort of over 1,600 adults and children living in three public housing sites: Jordan Downs, Imperial Courts, and Nickerson Gardens. This data is collected through in-person, interviewer-administered surveys. During the Covid-19 pandemic, interviews were switched to be 100% remote (conducted over the phone).

To capture the relationship between environment and obesity, respondents are surveyed about the following topic areas: 

 

Neighborhood & Community Environment. This includes general questions about neighborhood safety, infrastructure, and social connectivity. In later waves of data collection, this section also asked about the Jordan Downs redevelopment and its possible impacts on the community.

 

Physical Activity & Diet. Respondents are asked about their exercise habits, involvement in physical activities, eating habits, food shopping habits, and barriers to both eating healthy and exercising. 

 

 

Sedentary Behaviors. Respondents are asked about their sedentary habits such as how often they watch television, play video games, browse the internet, etc. 

 

 

Mental Health. Respondents are asked about various aspects of their mental health such as stress, coping ability, loneliness, and depressive feelings. 

 

General Health & Well-Being. In addition to specific questions about diet/exercise lifestyle behaviors, respondents were also asked about other aspects of their well-being and physical health, such as their sleep schedules, any health condition diagnoses, and their overall opinions about their own health.

 

Social Network & Body Weight Norms. This includes questions about each respondents social network and the perceptions that they have of those in their network. Examples of questions in this section include how many people in their network are overweight/obese, how often people exercise, how healthy people eat, etc.