The neighborhood environment and drug use in NYC

描述(申请人提供)：建议进行一项研究，旨在评估社区特征(例如，社区劣势、集体效能、居住隔离)与纽约市居民吸毒行为之间的关系，同时控制相关的个人因素。这项研究的第二个目的是确定关键的邻里特征与吸毒，特别是致命的吸毒过量的医疗后果之间的关系。最近的研究表明，社区特征与吸毒、滥用和依赖的可能性有关，而且只关注个人吸毒模式的研究不足以完全解释个人之间的吸毒行为。在这里，我们建议系统地收集数据，以描述大城市地区的社区特征，并测试可能解释吸毒行为及其后果的个体间差异的关键假设。 了解社区因素如何影响毒品使用风险行为，可以指导旨在减少毒品使用及其后果的干预措施，创造更好地促进吸毒者寻求治疗的社会环境，并改善整体人口健康。为了实现这项研究的目的，我们将使用来自三个来源的数据：(I)我们将通过对5,000名纽约市居民进行随机数字拨号电话调查，收集关于个人吸毒行为(重点是吸烟、酒精和大麻的使用)的数据，对每个受访者进行地理编码，并将其映射到他们居住的社区；(Ii)我们将使用调查中收集的信息和档案数据(从纽约市卫生和精神卫生部门、城市规划部门、警察局、美国人口普查和其他来源收集)，编制一个描述纽约市社区特征的背景数据库；以及(Iii)我们将把这些数据与NIDA资助的一项随时间推移的药物过量研究的数据结合起来(DA 06534；主要调查者：塔迪夫，该项目的顾问)。我们将使用多层递阶模型检验有关邻里特征与吸毒、滥用和依赖之间关系的关键假设。我们最近完成了对纽约市社区的几项研究，作为对这项研究的关键假设的初步探索。这一点，再加上我们对6000多名纽约人进行的电话采访，这就确保了这项研究的目标能够实现。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Proposed is a study is to assess the relations between neighborhood characteristics (e.g., neighborhood disadvantage, collective efficacy, residential segregation) and drug use behavior among residents of New York City while controlling for relevant individual-level factors. A secondary purpose of this study is to determine the relation between key neighborhood characteristics and the medical consequences of drug use, particularly fatal drug overdose. Recent work has shown that neighborhood characteristics are associated with the likelihood of drug use, abuse, and dependence and that research focusing exclusively on individual patterns of drug use is insufficient to fully explain inter-individual drug use behavior. Here we propose a systematic collection of data to characterize neighborhoods in a large metropolitan area and to test key hypotheses that may explain inter-individual variability in drug use behavior and its consequences. Understanding how neighborhood factors affect drug use risk behavior can guide interventions that aim to mitigate drug use and its consequences, to create a social environment that better facilitates users to seek treatment, and to improve overall population health. In order to achieve the aims of this study we will use data from three sources: (i) We will collect data on individual drug use behavior (focusing on cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use) through a random digit-dial phone survey of 5,000 New York City residents, geo-coding and mapping each respondent to their neighborhood of residence; (ii) we will compile a contextual database characterizing New York City neighborhoods using information collected in the survey and using archival data (collected from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of City Planning, Police Department, US Census and other sources); and (iii) we will combine this data with data from a NIDA funded study of drug overdose over time (DA 06534; principal investigator: Tardiff, a consultant on this project). We will test key hypotheses about the relations between neighborhood characteristics and drug use, abuse, and dependence using multi-level hierarchical models. We have recently completed several studies of New York City neighborhoods that serve as preliminary exploration of the key hypotheses of this study. This, coupled with our studies involving telephone interviews with 6,000+ New Yorkers is assurance that the aims of this study can be achieved.