Winter 2011
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NHANES Wins NCHS Holiday Decorating Contest

DHANES people are known to be a creative and resourcefulness bunch, and those traits come through loud and clear when they face either challenges or competitions. Three times in a row, those artists from DHANES won first place in the NCHS Holiday Decoration Contest. When asked why was his staff kept winning competitions, Division Director Cliff Johnson replied: “Well, we work hard, and we play hard, too!”

picture of gingerbread houses and MEC trailer made of cake
Primary Sampling Units (aka Gingerbread houses) and MEC trailer cake from Holiday Party 2008

New Format for NHANES Data Documentation

If you are a frequent data user, you may have noticed some changes in the format of the data documentation. We’ve been transitioning from Adobe Acrobat to a new HTML format, and by the end of the first quarter of 2011, all 1999+ NHANES data documentation will be transferred to the new format.

If you aren’t already familiar with it, the new format combines the data documentation and the codebook and frequencies for the variables in the dataset. So users can quickly jump to information, bookmarks to all the sections and appendices of the data documentation, as well as all the variables in the codebook and frequencies, are provided with the documentation. Using this new format helps DHANES meet Section 508 requirements of the Rehabilitation Act to make electronic documents accessible to blind, low-vision, and other handicapped users who may use a screen reader to access Federal websites.

We maintained the features that were useful in the Adobe Acrobat format, including searching, saving and printing. You can search the data documentation by going to the top toolbar and clicking Edit, then Find on this Page (or pressing the CTRL and F keys) and entering a search term. Also, the data documentation can be saved to your computer by going to the top toolbar and clicking Save As and selecting a location to save the documentation. The new format was designed to print well and the smaller file size means it will download and print faster.

What's Happening at NHANES

DHANES Deputy Directors named during Leadership Transition

After nearly 40 years of federal service and 10 years of directorship, Mr. Cliff Johnson announced his plan for retirement by 2012. In preparation for a smooth leadership transition and continuity of the survey, Mr. Johnson announced the appointment of three Deputy Directors in the interim, while the search for the new director is underway. Congratulations to Lew Berman, Lisa Broitman, and Dr. Rosemarie Hirsch!

Dr. Jackie Wright Begins a New Position at NHLBI/NIH

After 19 years of career as a nutrition epidemiologist at DHANES, Dr. Jacqueline Wright accepted a new position at NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. DHANES staff gave her a warm send-off right before the New Year, and wished her all the best with her new endeavor in the years to come!

 

New 50th Anniversary Webpage and Multimedia Materials Launched

As a wrap-up of our year-long celebrations, we will end on the high note of publishing a multi-media webpage. From this link below, you will be able to meet the DHANES directors, listen to the NHANES stories, take a virtual tour of the MEC, peruse the news articles or newsletters, or reflect on the 50 significant contributions NHANES made in its first five decades.

View NHANES 50th Anniversary webpage

screenshot of NHANES 50th Anniversary page showing Meet the Directors, MEC Tour, NHANES Newsletter, NHANES in the News, The NHANES Story, and Significant Contributions buttons

New Publications