A coalition of 40 organizations, including the Clinton School, will participate in a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences project to develop policy recommendations to address rural health needs across the state, it was announced today.
As part of the effort, a team of Clinton School students will work with the UAMS Translational Research Institute and the Center for Rural Health to examine community perspectives on rural health in Arkansas.
For their Practicum project, Clinton School students Maggie Carroll, Jake Coffey, Kate Milligan and Eakpot Nimjulrat will conduct focus groups and interviews in order to investigate health disparities, define limitations of the current healthcare system and identify cost-effective ways of delivering health care in Arkansas.
The project was officially launched today at a program at UAMS. Clinton School graduates Anna Strong, a senior policy analyst for the UAMS Center for Rural Health, and Todd Moore, community engagement lay program manager at the UAMS Translational Research Institute, were among the presenters.
Below is an excerpt from a UAMS press release, including a quote from UAMS Chancellor Dr. Dan Rahn about the partnership with the Clinton School. Click here for the full release.
The UAMS Translational Research Institute chose the Center for Rural Health to partner with a team of four first-year graduate students from the Clinton School to examine community perspectives on rural health through focus groups and interviews in rural areas around the state.
“We welcome Dean Skip Rutherford and Susan Hoffpauir, associate dean of Academic Affairs, and the team of Clinton School students as partners in this endeavor,” Rahn said.
Rahn also provided guidelines for the effort, saying it should focus on preventing rather than treating illness.
“If we build the infrastructure to ensure communities have access to quality education, healthy food, jobs, health insurance and other prerequisites to health, it will make a difference,” Rahn said. “We are all committed to doing our part to improve health and well-being in the rural parts of our state. This new partnership provides us an opportunity to share our experiences and align our efforts so we can all make a measurable difference in the lives of our rural neighbors.”