Hampden County selected to take part in annual national health survey Date: 7/24/2019 WEST SPRINGFIELD – For the first time in its 55-year history, Hampden County has been selected as one of the 15 sites nationwide to participate in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
What is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey? It’s the country’s annual “check-up” on the status of the major heath and nutrition issues – including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, smoking and drug use, healthy aging, dietary choices and more – affecting the approximately 327.2 million people who live in the U.S.
The annual study is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Center of Disease Control.
“Each person [selected] represents 50,000 other persons with the same characteristics, such as race, age and gender,” Victor Barajas, one of two onsite study managers told Reminder Publishing during a visit to the testing site, which has been set up on the ground of the Big E in West Springfield.
Study Manger George Dixon, who conducted the tour through the four state-of-the-art, air-conditioned trailers that house the mobile exam center, said those residents selected have “a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate” in the taking of the health pules of the nation.
Dixon said the NHANES advance team has been on the ground in Western Mass. since June 11, and that households selected for potential participation should have already received either a letter or a postcard indicating a staff member would be visiting to conduct a pre–enrollment interview to determine if the individual – or a member of their family – fits the criteria for this year’s survey. Interpreters will be available to aid individuals for whom English is not the first language.
“The interviewers will be wearing an ID badge,” Dixon explained, adding that the preliminary screening takes “about three to five minutes.
“If someone comes to your door, please open the door and answer his or her questions,” he added. The results of these in-home visits determine if the individual will be invited to participate in this year’s NHANES survey.
“If you are selected, we encourage you to participate,” Dixon said, stressing that all exams are free and all survey participants are assigned an ID number at registration to protect the confidentiality of the data collected. No data is reported to any health agency in a person’s name. He said since this nationwide survey began in the 1960s, more than 25,000 Americans have participated and there has never been a breach in participant confidentiality.
All tests at the mobile exam site – which includes such routine physical exams components as height and weight, nutrition counseling and a blood draw and potentially, hearing, balance, body mass, bone density and liver health tests – are conducted by appointment. The exam takes from 2 ½ to 4 hours, depending upon the tests performed, and individuals can schedule morning, afternoon or evening appointments during the week or on weekends. Dixon explained that all tests are voluntary, and participants can choose not to take part in any component. Participants are compensated for their participation and in some cases, for travel expenses to the testing site. All participants also receive a copy of their test results. The mobile testing center has accommodations for individuals who cannot navigate stairs.
Over the years the results of survey components – such as height and weight measurements and nutrition surveys – have been used to establish such benchmarks as the growth charts used in pediatrician’s offices and the national dietary guidelines.
As of July 19, Dixon said NHANES has 200 area residents who have agreed to participate in the exams, which were slated to begin on July 20. He said the hope is to have 600 individuals – from infants through 90 years of age – participate in the study before the team departs Western Mass at the end of August.
“We want everybody to be represented in this national survey,” Dixon said.
|
