Results of NMI kids’ health survey out soon

The results of the survey held to determine the health needs of children in the CNMI will be finally up for presentation at the end of this month.

Program coordinator Tayna Belyeu-Camacho of the Department of Public Health’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Program said the preliminary data would be presented on Nov. 28.

The project, in collaboration with the Northern Marianas College–Cooperative Research Education and Extension Services, began in July and ended in August this year.

Camacho said Dr. Rachel Novotny of the University of Hawaii would be presenting the preliminary data on the Health Pacific Child Project Survey at the Office on Aging’s Man’amko Center at 10am.

Camacho earlier said the activity was successful as it achieved its goal of interviewing and measuring 420 children between the ages of six months to 10 years old in June and July.

She said the survey’s success was largely due to the great response that everyone in the community gave to the teams. Only fewer than 10 percent of the people approached by the teams declined to participate, and most families welcomed the teams to their homes.

The teams, made up of members of the Department of Public Health, NMC-CREES and the University of Hawaii, traveled from village to village and house to house, conducting the nutrition and health survey to help determine some of the health needs of the island’s children.

The teams visited the villages of Tanapag, San Roque, Capitol Hill, Garapan, Chalan Kanoa, Susupe, Kagman, San Vicente, Koblerville, Dandan, San Antonio, Gualo Rai, Navy Hill, Songsong on Rota, and San Jose on Tinian.

“After the home visit, the parents were given the results of the measurements taken and provided with a packet of educational materials about child health,” Belyeu-Camacho said.

When there were concerns regarding their findings, the survey group provided the parents with a referral to the Health Center for a follow-up visit. “We would like to encourage all parents who were given referrals to visit a health center for those follow-up visits,” she said.

The University of Hawaii and NMC-CREES spent several days inputting the information on computers for succeeding analysis in Hawaii. All the information was coded in such a way that no individuals could be identified and all the survey forms were kept locked up, so that no personal information is seen by anyone except the few people involved in data analysis.

By early 2006, University of Hawaii team members will visit the CNMI again to report on the results of the survey with more details of the result. They will also continue to work with staff at DPH and NMC, Belyeu-Camacho said, to look at the relationship between the diet, health and other socio-economic and demographic factors of the CNMI population.

This information will help DPH and NMC identify areas for nutrition and health programs and interventions.

For more information regarding referrals, contact Belyeu-Camacho or Lynn Tenorio at 664-4030/3 at DPH.