NetHealth Project Data

The NetHealth Project (http://sites.nd.edu/nethealth/) is a multi-year longitudinal study of social networks and health funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (5R01HL117757-04) and administered through the Center for Network Science and Data at the University of Notre Dame (formerly iCeNSA). The project followed a cohort of University of Notre Dame undergraduate students who entered the university in Fall 2015 and graduated in Spring 2019. Approximately 700 students were initially recruited to participate in a two-year study, and approximately 300 participants continued for an additional two years, resulting in up to four years of longitudinal observation. The study collected a wide range of data on participants’ social networks, health, behavior, and daily activities. These include smartphone-based communication records; physical activity and sleep measures obtained from Fitbit devices; survey measures of physical and mental health, social-psychological states, tastes, self-reported behaviors, demographic characteristics, and background traits; and, for a subset of consenting participants, administrative records on courses and grades. All data were collected with informed consent under approved Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols designed to protect participant confidentiality and data security. A case-identification system was implemented to anonymize participant records while allowing researchers to link observations across different data sources. The principal data components include: Communication Data: Time-stamped records of communication events logged on participants’ smartphones. These records can be used to construct social networks, including arc and edge lists, representing participants’ communication with other individuals. Basic Survey Data: Eight waves of online survey data collected approximately every three to four months. These surveys include measures of health, behaviors, attitudes, social-psychological characteristics, demographics, and other individual attributes. Network Survey Data: Eight waves of network survey data collected approximately every three to four months. Participants were asked to identify and provide information about up to 20 individuals with whom they had interacted. Fitbit Data (Daily Activity and Daily Sleep): Daily measures derived from Fitbit devices, including number of steps, active minutes, average daily heart rate, time spent in different heart-rate zones, sleep start and end times, sleep duration, and sleep interruptions. Courses and Grades Data: For a subset of participants who provided consent, administrative records from the University of Notre Dame Registrar’s Office containing information about courses taken and grades received. Calendar: A weekly calendar covering the 194-week data-collection period, documenting the academic schedule and relevant temporal markers such as the beginning of classes, academic breaks, and holidays. Together, these data provide a rich longitudinal resource for studying the dynamic relationships among social networks, communication, health, behavior, physical activity, sleep, and academic experiences during the transition through college.