Health Study

A survey was developed by the research team. A group of community representatives reviewed and offered suggestions on how to improve it.

• Assessed medical history, occupational history, residential history, and lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking, physical activity).
• We want to begin by understanding what diseases are already in the community (we call this the ‘disease prevalence’). 

• Individuals 18 years of age and older who ever lived or worked in the City and Town of Tonawanda and the Town of Grand Island were invited to participate.
• A mailing was sent to all addresses found in a public database that included a copy of the survey, a consent form, and a return envelope.
• The survey gathered information about medical history, occupational history, residential history, and lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking, physical activity).
• The survey could be completed on paper or online.
• In total, 13,391 participants responded to this survey.

The goals are to determine what diseases are newly diagnosed in the community since the study started by using follow-up questionnaires (we call this "disease incidence"), start in-depth studies on specific diseases and conditions, and complete a historical exposure assessment.