News
Just What the Doctor Ordered: Produce Prescriptions are More Important—and Popular—Than Ever.
August 13, 2020
OXFORD, Miss. – Researchers at the University of Mississippi argue that PPPs are essential all the time—and want to take the idea a step further by bringing insurers into the mix for the long haul. Currently, however, insurers only pay for such programs for a short period of time, like six months, if at all. And experts say that may not be enough time to make a long-term dietary change needed to fundamentally shift one’s health and build a brand new relationship with food. Read More
Even as COVID-19 Rages, Some States Refuse to Extend Health Insurance to Their Poorest Residents
July 28, 2020
OXFORD, Miss. – Put another way, opposition to Medicaid expansion “is an ideological opposition, not a fact-based opposition to the ACA,” says Joan Alker who heads the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s School of Public Policy. “It’s tied up with a hatred of the ACA, which was President Obama’s signature achievement.” Alker points out that some 400 studies show Medicaid expansion reduces deaths. “I’m not sure what more evidence anyone can provide.” To see how this opposition leaves people in poorer health and more vulnerable to the effects of the current pandemic and future calamities, I looked at two states, Mississippi and Nebraska. Read More
Walmart Foundation Funding Fuels New Food Prescription Program
May 27, 2020
OXFORD, Miss. – Three University of Mississippi professors are recipients of a nearly half-million-dollar grant from the Walmart Foundation that will create a food prescription program to improve access to fresh food for Mississippians. The $442,154 grant from the Walmart Foundation will fund a program that is expected to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables and increase food security and food access for citizens of Charleston in Tallahatchie County. Read More
New Center to Engage Mississippi Communities as Research Partners
April 27, 2020
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi is home to a new center that aims to empower local communities to take charge of their community development, policy change and resilience building by using data and the arts. The UM Community First Research Center for Wellbeing and Creative Achievement, or UM: CREW, will be a resource for Mississippi communities – from counties and cities to groups of citizens – to create, access, analyze and apply knowledge and data to improve community well-being and local and regional decision-making. Read More
April 24, 2020
OXFORD, Miss. – In the rural South, the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming a silent disaster. As rural residents commute to jobs in cities and transportation hubs, they’re being exposed to the virus and bringing it home to a population already at risk. Chronic diseases that can lead to more severe COVID-19 symptoms are common across the rural South. The population is older and poorer than much of the country, and the health care system has been deteriorating for years as hospitals lose staff and close. Read More
- This article can also be viewed on EcoWatch, UPI, TruthOut, and MarketWatch.
- It was referenced by The New Zealand Herald, The Conversation, and News.com.au.
Is the South More at Risk for COVID-19?
April 14, 2020
OXFORD, Miss. – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend life in cities across the world, a University of Mississippi sociologist is focusing on the current and potential impact of the virus on rural communities across the South. Anne Cafer, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, is a researcher in rural health care and also serves as an affiliate at the Center for Population Studies and as a coordinator of the university’s Applied Policy and Community Research Laboratory. Read More
- This article can also be viewed on Medical Xpress.
North Mississippi Spotlight Interview with Anne Cafer
April 14, 2020
OXFORD, Miss. – Dr. Cafer talks with North Mississippi Spotlight host, Gary Darby, about her partnerships in Quitman County and with the Marks Project.