Contact: Maridith Geuder
Tupelo-based North Mississippi Health Services and Mississippi State today announced a first-ever collaboration to improve the quality of life in the region.
Jeffrey Barber, NMHS president and chief executive officer, joined MSU President Malcolm Portera in a Starkville ceremony formalizing a partnership with the university's Social Science Research Center.
New efforts under way at the SSRC "dovetail nicely with our mission of continuously improving the health of the people in our region," Barber said.
The MSU center recently formed the Rural Health, Safety, and Security Institute to focus on quality of life and human risk factors associated with rural America. In partnership with NMHS, it will develop research projects that evaluate the ways in which behaviors, culture and social factors affect health in Mississippi and other Southern states.
"Our goal is to work together to utilize social and behavioral research techniques to improve the health of rural populations and beyond," Barber explained.
Portera said both North Mississippi Health Services and Mississippi State have a long record of service to the region.
"NMHS has provided health-care services to the people of Northeast Mississippi for more than 60 years and has ample clinical research experience," he said. "The SSRC has 50 years of experience in analyzing economic and social issues in Mississippi, the Southeast and the nation. This agreement will create a powerful alliance to improve the potential for better health in our area."
NMHS has been actively involved in clinical research for many years. The NMHS Institutional Review Board currently is monitoring 35 studies, including 17 focused on cardiology and 10 on oncology. Funding from drug companies often supports the research, which develops protocols that compare one regimen to another.
By contrast, the new collaboration with Mississippi State will seek funding from private and federal grants.
"Our center has a long and successful record of securing research funding to address issues in Mississippi ranging from driving-under-the-influence to substance abuse treatments available," said SSRC director Art Cosby.
Research projects currently under way at the SSRC include those funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, state Department of Public Safety, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, among others.
Studies being considered under the new NMHS/MSU collaboration include:
--A regional health assessment of those residing in NMHS' 22-county service area to provide a comprehensive picture of the region's community health beliefs, behaviors and practices.
--A two-year study of the cognitive effects of chemotherapy in women treated for breast cancer.
--A study to assess patients' drug knowledge and understanding based on information provided in television and magazine advertising.
--An organizational review of the successful NMHS system to provide a model that can be emulated in other rural health systems.
--An evaluation of the region's end-of-life awareness. The project will be tied to a four-part public television special by journalist Bill Moyers airing Sept. 10-13 and will assess end-of-life awareness before and after the series.