The Mon Valley Neighborhood Study

Who we are: A group of researchers from Penn State (Melissa Bopp, Mallika Bose and Louisa Holmes) interested in learning about how Mon Valley residents’ health is influenced by their neighborhoods. Our goal is to document, from the resident’s perspective, things in your neighborhood that are encouraging or discouraging of their physical activity, healthy eating, mental health or other factors on a regular basis. We’d like to gather this information to share with community partners and stakeholders to start a conversation about making improvements or capitalizing on assets. 

Why we’re interested: It is well documented that your environment can influence your health.  There are many things that can encourage bad health habits and discourage healthy ones, and it’s always hard to be “your healthiest self” when you’re in an environment that is not supportive of good choices. Poor health habits can lead to many different negative physical and mental health outcomes which impact quality of life, economics, and longevity. This project aims to understand the role of the environment for influencing health among Mon Valley communities. 

You can read a short news story about this project here. Or listen to a podcast about the project here.

For Mon Valley Residents:

Thanks for your interest in our research study. This project is being conducted by researchers at Penn State University and is approved by the Penn State Institutional Review Board.

What does our project involve: We are asking youth (aged 14-17) and adults in the region to participate in a neighborhood study. Participants will do a brief (30 min) training session to learn about how their neighborhood can influence their health and how use a smartphone app to document neighborhood features. Then participants will have 2 weeks to document these features and complete a follow-up interview (60-75 minutes). Participants will be compensated for their time. We’ll anonymously compile all of the documented features and create a story map for communities that highlights the findings. All activities will take place virtually.  

If you’re interested in this study you can see if you’re eligible by completing this short screening survey. 

Questions about this study? Please email Faith Jasso (fgj5004@psu.edu) or Melissa Bopp (mjb73@psu.edu)

Already enrolled in the study? Find some resources and additional information on this page.

This study was funded by the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment