This Field Study Internship Took Place with the Mississippi State Department of Health

Abstract:

This field study internship took place with the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Health Disparity Elimination located in Jackson, Ms from mid-June until mid-September. The Office of Health Disparity Elimination performs research and education on unequal access to quality health care and strives to eliminate such disparities across the state Three large projects were completed with Dr. Lovetta Brown, MD, MPH who is the Medical Director for the Office.

The first project was a review and evaluation of the Communities in Action program. The purpose of this program is to empower communities and enhance their capacity. The program consists of a series of workshops for community leaders which provides skills on the following: organizational capacity and credibility, creating and securing funding, return on investments, and strategic planning and funds management. At the conclusion of the training sessions, a call for proposals is opened for funding of projects and in April 2009, five projects were funded. My responsibilities included reviewing the first mandatory progress reports and comparing the reports to the original proposals to ensure that the organization’s were making progress toward their goals, creating a site visit protocol that would assist me in making visits to project sites to evaluate the project and determine progress and needs, and conducting site visits.

The second project was assistance in designing a project to examine the quality of care in Mississippi. I was responsible for researching previous quality of health care surveys in order to determine appropriate questions for our survey. I also wrote a grant proposal for submission that detailed the research methods and design of the study.

The third project that I worked on was for the Magnolia Model whichaims to reduce and eliminate disparities in Mississippi in the area of chronic disease and associated risk factors, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke, mental health and substance abuse, violence, infant mortality, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. I worked specifically on the topic of weight management as a way to prevent and mitigate chronic disease. I designed a focus group guide, partnered with local community organizations to recruit participants, and moderated four focus groups across the state of Mississippi which examined attitudes and beliefs toward healthful eating/ nutrition, physical activity, and weight management.

Tainayah W. Thomas

Advisor: Dr. Michael Prelip

September 22, 2009