Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

About the Study

Who runs this study?

This study is run by Dr. Tiffany Powell-Wiley's Social Determinants of Obesity and Cardiovascular Risk Laboratory within the Cardiovascular Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the NIH. The Principal Investigator of the study is Tiffany Powell-Wiley MD, MPH, FAHA, a preventive cardiologist and social epidemiologist. She leads a research group focused on investigating the impact of neighborhood environment on physical activity to better understand heart health in at-risk, underserved populations most impacted by health disparities.

What is this study about?

The goal of this research study is to determine if there are differences in stress levels between women who live in different parts of Washington D.C. We also want to see if there are differences in how women from different parts of D.C. use their neighborhoods for doing exercise. What kind of commitment is involved?

What kind of commitment is involved?

If you decide to take part in this study, you will be asked to come to the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health for an Initial Visit and Follow-up Visit. There will be two parts to the study. The first part of the study will be the Initial Visit at the NIH Clinical Center Visit and will involve:

  1. Filling out a survey about stress levels and health behaviors;
  2. A physical exam, blood testing, blood vessel function tests, tests of metabolism, and PET/CT imaging of the whole body;
  3. One overnight stay at the NIH Clinical Center
  4. Getting the wrist-worn activity monitoring device and GPS device to measure how you use your neighborhood for daily physical activity;
  5. Getting a mobile app to answer short daily surveys on daily stress, thoughts about neighborhood environment features, and physical activity
  6. Getting instructions on how to use the devices for measuring the use of your neighborhood for daily physical activity and how to use the mobile app; and,
  7. Assessment of your physical activity level for at least 14 days.

The second part of this study will be the Follow-up Visit and will take place at the end of the 14 days of activity monitoring. At the end of the study, you may undergo additional surveys and blood testing, and you will return the devices.

You will use three types of devices for this study:

  1. a wrist-worn activity device (i.e., collecting your physical activity level);
  2. a global positioning system (GPS) device (i.e., monitoring the locations where you travel throughout 2 weeks); and
  3. phone-based mobile applications (app) to assess your physical activity and stress level via survey questions.

How can I ask questions or ask for help?

Email us at valerie.mitchell@nih.gov or at tiffany.powell-wiley@nih.gov (or click on Contact). We will respond within 5 business days.