The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that some White County residents are participating in “is a way for government to understand the health of the nation and what needs to be improved,” according to study leader Ruthie Christian.
NHANES has traveled the country to learn about the health of the U.S. population since 1960, though it is operating in an Arkansas city for the first time, Christian said. Medical exam trailers arrived at Harding University before Thanksgiving and the boots hit the ground again in White County last Thursday, he said.
“We plan to identify about 700 people to collect 335 to look into,” Christian said. “Before we get to a select city, we send out a group called Lister and they go out into the community and county and list every single family.” Later, Christian said those addresses go through a screening process and the algorithm determines which households in that county will best represent the nation.
“In order to have a snapshot of the nation, we need to identify, interview and examine all age groups,” Christian said. “This is something President [Dwight D.] Eisenhower established six decades ago.
Christian said the study is “literally looking at everything from your shopping habits to your eating habits to your actual health metrics.”
To provide an example of what this study gleaned over the past few years, Christian said some may remember when you could smoke cigarettes anywhere: on an airplane, in a restaurant, and other places. “The Clean [Indoor Air] The act was born thanks to NHANES. The NHANES study and examinations established that secondhand smoke was as harmful as the person smoking. that’s why we can no longer smoke in the car with children”.
Another glean has to do with controls of healthy children. “At the end of that checkup, the doctor will tell you when your child is in that normal range,” Christian said. “That range came from the NHANES studio.”
Due to confidentiality, Christian said he couldn’t name the community, but there has been one over the past two years where the study kept noting that kids in a specific area kept testing positive for arsenic.
“And it turned out that the pool they were swimming in and fishing in was saturated with arsenic, so we were able to alert the community,” he said. “So this study came up with a lot of different things. I could literally go on… airplanes. How they determine the safe amount of weight for an airplane came from the NHANES study. so a slogan that my boss uses and that I really love is that ‘everyone knows NHANES data’ but nobody knows where it comes from’”.
The data addresses critical health issues such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Right before the winter break for this job, Christian said. “We’ve had a really nice response” with reaching out to people.
“We have a winter break and a summer break and then when we come back from the break things calm down. so we don’t want Searcy to calm down,” she said. “I’m an Arkansan. I’m the first Arkansas study manger. I’m in Conway.
“The other really interesting thing is that in the 60 years of NHANES existence, this is the first time the algorithm has selected a city in Arkansas. So, as Arkansan, I am desperate and determined to represent our state well. We need 335 people to go through the medical examination unit for Arkansas to be considered a success and like Arkansas, I need that. This is our first time to Arkansas, but I want to make sure it’s not our last.”
White County is one of 15 U.S. counties and cities that has been selected to be part of NHANES this year. Each year, only 5,000 residents nationwide are chosen to participate in NHANES, which is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Participants will receive a free, comprehensive health and nutrition assessment and a token of appreciation for their time. All information collected is confidential, as required by law.
National Center for Health Statistics director Dr. Brian C. Moyer said, NHANES serves as the nation’s ‘health watch’ by going to communities across the country to gather health information. The survey provides a wealth of important data on many of the major health and nutrition issues affecting the country.”
Public health officials, legislators and physicians use this information to develop health policies, direct and design health programs and services, and expand the nation’s health knowledge. NHANES data also helps produce national references and standardized growth charts used by pediatricians across the country.
No medical assistance is provided in the mobile exam trailers in Harding’s parking lot. Each participant is provided with a “physical findings” report along with an explanation of those findings by the medical survey staff.
NHANES is taking CDC-recommended precautions to protect survey participants and staff by following guidelines on social distancing, use of personal protective equipment, hand washing, and sanitation of the mobile exam center and all equipment.