Tohatchi hosts health fair

By Brian Hassler
Staff Writer

SHIPROCK — It isn't easy for people in the far reaches of the Navajo reservation to figure out where they need to improve on their diets but for the next two weeks people in Tohatchi will have that opportunity.

The Navajo Education And Research Towards Health (EARTH) study will be in Tohatchi April 11-13 and April 17-20.

"We recruit and bring them in and it's voluntary if they want to go through it," said Clarina Clark, of the Shiprock EARTH office. "We have them sign a consent form and we do medical measurements, we take their blood pressure and we sit them at the touch screen computer and they answer diet questions and lifestyle factor question."

The study, which was started by the University of Utah and the Shiprock and Fort Defiance health boards and is funded by the National Cancer Institute, is in the final year of the five year study and originally had a goal of doing the study on 10,000 people and has been working since that time to complete the study and inform Navajo's of the long term health risks.

Navajo's are susceptible diseases like diabetes and struggle with high cholesterol as well but questions in the study seek to pinpoint any dietary actions that might be making the conditions worse.

"Once they've completed everything, we do the exit interview and give them four pages of feedback and give them the diet that they should be doing to improve their health," said Clark. "If their readings came back high, we do referrals to doctors and professionals if they scored high as far as cholesterol and glucose."

But the study 'all questions and paperwork, as participants receive a tote bag or a water bottle as well as a Red Mesa Express $10 gas card, a 60-minute phone card and a $5 City Market gift card. They are also put into a drawing for a $25 dollar gift card from Ace Hardware.

"Right now we're just setting up schedules," said Clark. "We're collecting data on diets and lifestyle factors to see if that contributes to health or chronic illness. From the feedback when they go through the study, they think about their diet, their intakes weekly and monthly, how many servings they have and from the data collected, we'd like to try to help improve the health services or health programs and future projects."

The Shiprock office of Navajo EARTH is open from 8-5 p.m., Monday through Friday but will be open on Saturday, April 15 for those interested, while the mobile unit will be available in Tohatchi April 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., April 12 and 13 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and April 17-20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Contact the Shiprock Navajo EARTH office at 505-368-4479 for additional information.

— Brian Hassler is The Independent's Four Corners reporter based in Shiprock. Contact him at (505) 360-7862 or via email at brianhassler@hotmail.com