Middlesex County residents to participate in nationwide health survey

BY Christopher Lang, Correspondent, @topherlang2 | Jun 6, 2018 | MonroeNow

Randomly selected Middlesex County residents will receive a visit from health professionals with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to help assess the health of children and adults in the nation.

Starting June 8, the professionals will begin interviewing residents for the annual project that is used to help address important health problems facing the nation.

Middlesex is one of 15 counties in the nation selected to participate in the annual survey, which interviews and performs examinations on approximately 5,000 residents.

“[National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey] serves as the nation’s ‘health check-up,’ going into communities to collect health information throughout the country,” said National Center for Health Statistics Director Charles J. Rothwell. “The survey is a unique resource for health information, and without it we would lack important knowledge about major health conditions.”

Participants are randomly selected by the CDC, and its survey staff will collect health information through interviews with those individuals. Also, participants can receive a free physical exam and the results, which they can review with their healthcare provider. Information collected by the CDC remains confidential.

“The information collected will help health professionals gain a better understanding on how to diagnose, treat and prevent disease,” said Middlesex County Freeholder Director Ronald G. Rios.

Individuals conducting the survey will have proper identification. Those who participate, in addition to the free health exam and report, will receive up to $125 for their time plus travel expenses.

The survey is already underway in Hall County, Nebraska. According to local reports, health officials have been collecting data from selected residents for several weeks and is scheduled to conclude the project on June 11.

For more information, visit the CDC National Center for Health Statistics.

Initial interviews are conducted in the respondent’s home, according to the website. Additionally, selected households in the study area receive a letter from the National Center for Health Statistics about the survey. The study will look at anemia, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, environmental exposures, eye disease, hearing loss, kidney disease, nutrition, obesity, oral health, osteoporosis, physical fitness and physical functioning, reproductive history and sexual behavior, respiratory diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and vision.

The study program started in the 1960s focusing on different population groups or health topics. In 1999, it became an annual study examining health and nutrition measurements to meet emerging needs. Typically, the survey is a representative sample of 5,000 people in 15 counties nationwide.

“The [National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey] interview includes demographics, socioeconomic, dietary and health-related questions,” according to the website. “The examination component consists of medical, dental and physiological measurements, as well as laboratory tests administered by highly-trained medical personnel.”