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Public Health

Mississippi State University

2023

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Opportunities For Mental Health Interventions In Rural Mississippi Communities During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Analysis, Brice Fortinberry Dec 2023

Opportunities For Mental Health Interventions In Rural Mississippi Communities During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Analysis, Brice Fortinberry

Theses and Dissertations

COVID-19 presented unique challenges for rural Mississippi communities including impacts on the mental health of rural individuals. This research study aimed to identify opportunities for mental health interventions to provide health promotion professionals with quantitative data on the accessibility and the likelihood of engagement with mental health-fostering behaviors. A secondary objective of this research was to categorize these behaviors within the constructs of the Social Ecological Model. Demographics for rural Mississippi communities were collected and displayed, and using multivariate analyses including Spearman’s correlation and a Mann-Whitney U test the correlation between mental health fostering behaviors and demographic factors was obtained. …

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Adaptability In Community-Based Participatory Research: Comparisons Of Coalitions In The Deep South, Candace Forbes Bright Phd Sep 2023

Adaptability In Community-Based Participatory Research: Comparisons Of Coalitions In The Deep South, Candace Forbes Bright Phd

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Health inequities in the Gulf states are complex issues to resolve, and no single solution or strategy can improve the health rankings in each state. Yet, using grassroots approaches and building community partnerships are promising strategies to identify important health issues and opportunities for policy change. Purpose: This paper illustrates how the Gulf States Health Policy Center coalitions in four different locations used the same community-based participatory research model, but with distinct differences in processes, across nine projects to address issues that negatively affected population health. Methods: Recognizing that communities have unique needs, resources, and complementary health efforts, we …

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Rural Medical Scholars Program: Filling The Gap For Health-Care And Public Health Leaders In Mississippi, David R. Buys Sep 2023

Rural Medical Scholars Program: Filling The Gap For Health-Care And Public Health Leaders In Mississippi, David R. Buys

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

The Rural Medical & Science Scholars program aims to help rising high school seniors determine if they want to pursue health-related careers. The program shapes students’ interest in and understanding of medicine, health-related disciplines, and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The program combines didactic, observational, and practical learning during a summer semester. Participants earn seven college credits to jumpstart a health or STEM career. We report on descriptive statistics since the program’s inception in 1998. The program has matriculated 401 students, of whom approximately 71% have chosen health-related careers in nursing, physical or occupational therapy, dentistry, pharmacy, …

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Policies On Hand-Held Mobile Device Use While Driving: Considerations For Mississippi, Amy Radican-Wald Sep 2023

Policies On Hand-Held Mobile Device Use While Driving: Considerations For Mississippi, Amy Radican-Wald

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Mississippi enacted a texting/accessing social networking sites ban for all drivers in 2015; this ban is due for reauthorization in 2018. Purpose: Examine state policies prohibiting mobile device use while driving and changes in behaviors, attitudes, and opinions over time for Mississippi adults regarding distracted driving. Methods: Review literature and enacted policies. Analyze traffic, death, and survey data statewide from 2010 to 2017. Results: Mississippi’s crash death rate rose significantly (22.7 to 25.6 per 100,000; p < .01) from 2010 to 2015. Mississippi adults surveyed said they had talked on a mobile device (75.4%), texted (45.5%), or emailed (10.1%) while driving in 2017. Each reported risky driving behavior increased significantly (p < 0.05) from 2010. Most Mississippians support bans on texting (95%) and hand-held device use (89%) while driving. Support for these types of bans significantly (p < 0.05) increased from 2010 to 2017. Enacted policies vary among states and include mobile device use bans for novice drivers (n = 38) and texting (n = 47) and hand-held (n = 14) bans for all drivers. While safety campaigns coupled with aggressive enforcement are found effective, officials cite enforcement difficulties. Only three texting citations were issued to Mississippi drivers during 2016. Conclusions: Enforcement of policies addressing drivers’ mobile device use is a key factor to consider in reducing crash-related deaths.

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Training The Next Generation Of Primary-Care Physicians: Are Student-Run Free Clinics (Srfcs) The Way To Go?, Tobe Momah Sep 2023

Training The Next Generation Of Primary-Care Physicians: Are Student-Run Free Clinics (Srfcs) The Way To Go?, Tobe Momah

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: The consensus over the last 20 years is that increased availability of primary care reduces the overall cost of healthcare and improves mortality and morbidity rates by as much as 1.44 fewer deaths per 10,000 people (American College of Physicians, 2008; Shi, Starfield, Kennedy, & Kawachi, 1999). However, not enough physicians are going into primary care to meet the need for improved and increased access. By 2020, the expanded Title VII program goal is to produce a physician workforce that is at least 40 percent primary care (Jackson et al., 2014). Estimates show that 74% of U.S. medical school …

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Speech-Language Pathologists And Respiratory Therapists: Team Approach To Caring For Patients With Long-Term Tracheotomy, Javis M. Knott Sep 2023

Speech-Language Pathologists And Respiratory Therapists: Team Approach To Caring For Patients With Long-Term Tracheotomy, Javis M. Knott

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Recent technological advances, together with growing social acceptance of patients with disabilities, has led to a realization of the importance of long-term management of technologically dependent and chronically ill patients with tracheostomies. This includes tracheostomy patients who are ventilator dependent, neurological patients, patients with severe illness such as stroke, and so forth. These patients are able to have a higher quality of life and communicate verbally due to advances in health care. One of the major advancements is communicating via a tracheostomy. Hence, this study will provide ways in which respiratory therapists (RTs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can work …

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Maternal, Child, And Parenting Factors Associated With Obesity Among Pre-Kindergarten Children In Mississippi, Jerome R. Kolbo Sep 2023

Maternal, Child, And Parenting Factors Associated With Obesity Among Pre-Kindergarten Children In Mississippi, Jerome R. Kolbo

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Obesity among children and youth has been consistently assessed among public school students in Mississippi since 2005. Significant declines in the prevalence of obesity among elementary students over the past decade suggest that changes may be occurring prior to entry into public school. Purpose: The purpose was to collect anthropometric data on a weighted, representative sample of children ages 3 to 5 years in licensed childcare facilities across Mississippi, and to correlate maternal, child, and parenting characteristics to obesity. Methods: The Body Mass Index was calculated using measured height and weight data. Results: A total of 14.12% of the …

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Remaining In The Workforce After Motherhood: Does The Family Medical Leave Act Play A Role In The Decisions Of Mississippi Mothers?, Danielle Fastring Sep 2023

Remaining In The Workforce After Motherhood: Does The Family Medical Leave Act Play A Role In The Decisions Of Mississippi Mothers?, Danielle Fastring

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Increased maternity leave has been shown to have a positive impact on maternal and child health, and to increase the length of time mothers breastfeed their infants. After childbirth, working women must decide if and when they will return to the workforce. Purpose: To determine the impact of current U.S. family leave policies on Mississippi mothers’ decisions to return to work after the birth of their first child. Methods: A survey was developed to collect information about factors influencing mothers’ decisions to return to work after the birth of their first child. The survey collected study eligibility information, demographics, …

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The Relationship Between Obesity And Depression Among Federally Qualified Health Center Patients, Hwanseok Choi Sep 2023

The Relationship Between Obesity And Depression Among Federally Qualified Health Center Patients, Hwanseok Choi

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Obesity has reached epidemic levels in Mississippi. In the shadow of these skyrocketing obesity levels, there are comorbid high levels of depression. Both obesity and depression complicate and, in many cases, compromise critical health outcomes. A significant association between obesity and depression has been suspected for decades. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between obesity and depression among patients receiving medical care from a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in a southern state. Methods: The sample was comprised of 3,272 subjects. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to measure the severity of depression, …

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Using Medicaid Data To Identify Factors That Predict Reinstitutionalization Of Mississippians With Disabilities And Elderly People, Hwanseok Choi Sep 2023

Using Medicaid Data To Identify Factors That Predict Reinstitutionalization Of Mississippians With Disabilities And Elderly People, Hwanseok Choi

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: Mississippi Bridge to Independence (B2I) was Mississippi’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) program seeking to rebalance the state’s long-term care system by transitioning Medicaid beneficiaries from institutional living to home- and community-based settings (HCBS). Success of initial transitions has been documented in state cost-savings and participants’ quality of life increases. However, reinstitutionalization poses a challenge to sustaining a positive outcome for the initiative. Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the underlying causes of participants’ reinstitutionalization. Methods: The Quality of Life (QoL) survey designed by Mathematica Policy Research was used to measure variables in 7 categories. …

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Racial Differences In Perception And Experiences Of Adverse Treatment By Healthcare Providers: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of The All Of Us Data, Tanya Funchess, Traci Hayes, Yang Ge, Felix Twum Apr 2023

Racial Differences In Perception And Experiences Of Adverse Treatment By Healthcare Providers: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of The All Of Us Data, Tanya Funchess, Traci Hayes, Yang Ge, Felix Twum

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Health disparities among racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. are well documented. Among the non-medical issues, including discrimination, language barriers, and low health literacy, the patient-provider relationship has been identified as a factor that drives health disparities. Negative interactions with healthcare providers and the healthcare system produce poor health outcomes, exacerbating health inequalities and reducing the likelihood of patients adhering to recommended treatments and therapies. The purpose of this study was to examine racial differences in perceptions and experiences of adverse treatment by healthcare providers. A cross-sectional analysis of select variables from the All of Us research program basic …

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