The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a program of studies that analyzes the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews with physical examinations. Each year, surveyors from the Center for Disease Control visit 15 counties across the United States to gather this data. In an unlikely drawing, Pottawatomie County has been selected as one of the representative counties in 2015.
Now, a Mobile Exam Center has been set up near Highland Community College in Wamego as Survey Director Janis Eklund and her team spread out across the county to visit randomly selected addresses. According to Eklund, her team of surveyors has been met with resistance and skepticism across the county. Each surveyor carries an authentic badge from the CDC, and only requests demographic and health information.
“In over fifty years of travelling across the country, we’ve never once had a breach of confidentiality,” said Eklund.
Surveyors ask a series of questions, then log the data into tiny computers. The handheld computers use an algorithm that can select people for medical screening based off demographic information. Eklund said with so many counties eligible to be a part of the survey, it is an honor for Pottawatomie County to be in the mix.
For the past 55 years, NHANES has had a prominent role in improving the health of all people living in the U.S. Public health officials, legislators, and physicians use information gathered in the survey to develop policies, programs, and knowledge that impact Americans for generations to come.
The nation’s most comprehensive study on health and nutrition has been set up in the county since August 14, and will conclude their work on October 11 after surveying an estimated 480 people.
