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What's New

The L.A.FANS project announces the release of two new sources of contextual data:

• The L.A.FANS Neighborhood Observations; and
• The Los Angeles Neighborhood Services and Characteristics Database.

An updated list of L.A.FANS publications is available.

Revised descriptions of the L.A.FANS Restricted Data and application procedures for obtaining these data are available.

Additional support for using the L.A.FANS data is available online, including answers to frequently asked questions.

Wave 2 of the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS-2) is in the field. Fieldwork began in September 2006 and will continue through the summer of 2008. For L.A.FANS-2, Anne Pebley (UCLA) and Narayan Sastry (RAND) will be serving as co-directors. Funding for L.A.FANS-2 is being provided by NICHD, NIA, and NIEHS.

The plan for L.A.FANS-2 includes:

• Relocating and reinterviewing all of the randomly sampled adult (RSA), randomly sampled child (RSC), and RSC sibling (SIB) respondents from Wave 1 regardless of where they live or whether they live with each other. Sampled respondents who live outside of Southern California (including those who are in other countries) will be interviewed by telephone.
• Interviewing a sample of "new entrants" into each L.A.FANS neighborhood. New entrant selection rules will be similar to those in Wave 1 for RSAs, RSCs, and SIBs. New entrants will complete interviews very similar to those for Wave 1 RSAs, RSCs, and SIBs.
• For all RSCs and SIBs under the age of 18, we will also interview their primary caregiver (PCG). This PCG will either be the same PCG as in Wave 1 (if the RSC or SIBs is still living with her/him) or a new respondent who is the child's current primary caregiver.
• The Event History Calendar (EHC) has been expanded to cover the full period between Waves 1 and 2.
• We are collecting the Woodcock-Johnson reading and math assessment for RSCs, SIBs, and PCGs as in Wave 1.
• A new addition to L.A.FANS involves collecting biomarkers of stress and health for sampled adults and children. Specifically, we are collecting anthropometry (measured height, weight, and waist/hip circumference), a measure of lung function, blood pressure, and dried blood spots which will be tested for hemoglobin A1C (a diabetes marker), C-reactive protein (cardiovascular disease precursor), cholesterol, and other measures. For children, we will also collect salivary Cortisol samples.
• In addition to collecting a new round of neighborhood measures for all of the 65 sampled neighborhoods, we will also collect a limited set of measures on all neighborhoods in Southern California into which respondents move.

Read the News Release: RAND Study of Los Angeles County Neighborhoods and Their Impact on Children Enters Second Phase