Enid Alvarez/New York Daily News
“This has to be a sign from God,” said Picciano, who lives in the Bronx, after learning she would get a battery of medical tests for free.
Elsie Picciano had been mulling a trip to the doctor when a letter arrived from the New York City Department of Health.
It told her she was one of 3,000 households randomly selected to participate in a vital survey that could help shape future city public health policy. “This has to be a sign from God,” said Picciano, who lives in the Bronx, after learning she would get a battery of medical tests for free.
Researchers have embarked on the second-ever New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NYC HANES) to take the pulse of city residents and a get a picture of the health issues they face every day. If that lofty goal isn’t enough of an incentive, participants will also get $ 100 in cash.
Data from the last survey, conducted in 2004, showed more than one-quarter of adult New Yorkers had high blood pressure and 25% had high cholesterol, prompting the groundbreaking ban on trans fats in foods.
RELATED: HEALTH TO PAY FOR CITY WORKERS?
Concerns about the impact of secondhand smoke, led lawmakers to ban smoking at city beaches and parks. And the the city cracked down on illegal skin-lightening creams and handling of fish after test showed New Yorkers had three times the national average of mercury levels in their systems.
“They test for everything — things I didn’t even know were in my blood,” said Picciano (photo inset), who recently took the exam.
Officials from the Health Department and CUNY School of Public Health, who are conducting the survey with foundation and grant monies, are hoping others will share Picciano’s enthusiasm.
The new study will also try to measure for kidney disease and check for the human papillomavirus, a leading cause of head and neck cancer, said Lorna Thorpe, lead investigator of the study and director of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program at the CUNY School of Public Health.
RELATED: FROM FOODBORNE ILLNESS TO FLU, GOV’T SHUTDOWN AFFECTS SAFETY
“We’re looking for longer-term reasons why people are developing chronic conditions,” Thorpe said.
In an effort to better accommodate participants, the tests can be conducted in their homes or at a clinic in Manhattan.
“Finding people at home is a challenge. Gaining their interest is a challenge,” said Carolyn Greene, a deputy health commissioner who is helping to oversee the survey. “We’ve done a lot to make the survey as convenient for participants as possible.”
Field interviewers are going door to door around the five boroughs to follow up with households selected to participate in the confidential study. Last week, the News accompanied one of the interviewers as she rang buzzers in a section of Queens.
RELATED: BLOOMBERG FAVORS BACON, PEANUT BUTTER ON WHITE BREAD
Lugging a scale, computer and other equipment in a suitcase, the seasoned interviewer was cheerful and professional as she tried to contact people who had failed to respond to a letter mailed weeks ago.
Several buzzers went unanswered while other people said they were too busy to talk.
“Most people, if they are willing to listen, are willing to do the study,” said the interviewer, whose name is being withheld by the News because of confidentiality issues with the study.
She makes a point of explaining the surprising results that came from the 2004 survey.
“I tell them we found that one in three people who have diabetes in New York City don’t know it — that’s scary,” she said. “This is why what we are doing is making a difference.”
For more information go to www.nychanes.org.
Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News
http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info/?p=15574
via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info
No comments:
Post a Comment