CQUniversity is attempting to contact Rockhampton residents who took part in a 2001 survey on physical activity and neighbourhood design to reassess their perceptions.

Lead by CQUniversity researcher Dr Mitch Duncan and funded by the National Heart Foundation, the project hopes to reassess people's physical activity levels and perceptions of the environment.

Dr Mitch Duncan

Dr Duncan said the original study found some interesting relationships between certain characteristics of a person's neighbourhood and their physical activity level.

"We are now looking to recontact these people 7 years later to reassess their perceptions of the environment and their physical activity level to see how changes in the environment are associated with physical activity levels."

The University's Population Research Lab (PRL) initially conducted 1281 interviews of which 846 people said that they would like to be contacted for further research. It is these people the University is attempting to contact.

These people have been sent a letter about the project, and are encouraged to take the time to complete the research if they receive a call from the PRL. The project is the first of its kind to follow people over such a long period of time and the results will help to understand how to build communities to improve resident's health.