Earlier this month, the Southern Arkansas University (SAU) College of Science and Engineering faculty made a significant presentation to the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) in Little Rock, coinciding with a site visit by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The focus was on their innovative efforts to understand and mitigate health disparities in southwest Arkansas. Leading the presentation were Dr. Jennifer Kelton-Huff, assistant professor of public health, and Dr. Daniel McDermott, associate professor of biology, representing a team that included Dr. Abdel Bachri, Dr. Abe Tucker, Dr. Antoinette Odendaal, and Dr. Tara Almand.
In 2022, the team secured a $1 million grant from the CDC, administered through the ADH Office of Health Disparities Elimination. The funding aims to alleviate health disparities in high-risk groups, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and those in rural areas, all while training student interns under the project “Building a Diverse Workforce to Advance Health Equity.”
Dr. Kelton-Huff shared insights into the Community Health Internship Program, where 23 SAU health ambassador students undertook a comprehensive community health needs assessment across 17 counties in southwest Arkansas. They collected over 2,000 survey responses, focusing on demographics, the impacts of COVID-19, vaccine hesitancy, and access to healthcare. They analyzed the data using the new high-end biostatistics laboratory in SAU’s science building, which the grant funded.
Dr. McDermott outlined the clinical health internships portion of the grant, which, from Summer 2022 to Spring 2023, involved 29 students gaining 120 hours of shadowing experience in fields such as nursing, pre-med, psychology, and exercise science. Clinical interns received valuable first-hand experience working in community health and clinical settings with direct patient contact. All 52 young scholars received $4,000.00 in internship stipends to engage in their work.
Furthermore, the presentation to ADH and CDC reported on the health professions summer camps the SAU team offered during summer 2022 and 2023. The camps aimed to spur interest in health careers by immersing high school students in hands-on experiences. Approximately 60 high school students benefited from the weeklong overnight camps.
Dr. Abdel Bachri, dean of SAU’s College of Science and Engineering, and Dr. Abe Tucker, chair of the biology department at SAU, the primary directors of the grant, spoke positively about SAU’s opportunity to work alongside other organizations around the state. Dr. Bachri remarked, “The presentations to the Arkansas Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were the culmination of two years of tireless efforts from people and organizations across the state. To be able to share our findings and learn from the experiences of those involved in this state-wide initiative will help us sustain these efforts and better serve all our communities.”
As the project advances, the SAU team is surveying healthcare providers, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other professionals within the 17 county service region to gain a deeper understanding of the barriers to accessing healthcare in our community, as well as to identify underlying reasons for any poorer health outcomes. This ongoing commitment underscores SAU’s role as a pivotal player in advancing health equity in south Arkansas.
Southern Arkansas University provides students with the complete college experience in a caring environment of service, innovation, and community. With more than 100 degrees in four distinct colleges and the School of Graduate Studies, SAU initiates new degree programs to fit the needs of career and professional trends of today. To learn more about SAU, visit www.saumag.edu.
