Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A new publication offering information on access to healthcare in Mississippi's 82 counties will be released this month by a research center based at Mississippi State.
"Listening to Mississippi's Needs: Assessing Our Health Workforce 2010," was published by the Mississippi Center for Health Workforce, located at MSU's Social Science Research Center.
Lynne Cossman, an associate professor of sociology at MSU and principal investigator for the Mississippi Center for Health Workforce, said the annual assessment--scheduled for release Jan. 26--compares data of different counties in categories such as physician-patient ratios, population demographics, insurance rates and admissions to hospitals, among other information.
Cossman said the publication is designed as a reference guide for health care planners, providers and others associated with this field in the Magnolia State.
"Mississippians' access to healthcare has been inadequate for quite some time," said Cossman. "Until now, a thorough assessment of the providers, insurance and utilization has not been undertaken."
Cossman and others at the nationally recognized Social Science Research Center joined with colleagues in MSU's sociology department to compile data for the book.
One of seven regional operations, the Northeast Mississippi Area Health Education Center works to help recruit and retain health professionals, and create connections between communities and professionals, among other missions.
The Mississippi Center for Health Workforce, part of the Northeast Mississippi Area Health Education Center, also contributed to the publication. It was established in response to a shortage of highly trained health care professionals. Its primary mission is a statewide database focusing on what draws health care professionals to practice in the state, what keeps them practicing here and why they may choose to leave.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: You may obtain a copy of the data book by contacting Katherine Harney at 662-325-3673 or katherine.harney@ssrc.msstate.edu.
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For other information about the center's research, visit www.nemsahec.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.