FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Oct. 31, 2014
Contact: Leah C. Payne, Director of Public Affairs, Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, 304-691-1713

Marshall School of Medicine hosts inaugural Rural Health Research day
Projects showcase rural health research and rural health care

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – More than two dozen posters and presentations about rural health care and rural health research took center stage Friday at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s first Rural Health Research Day.

The day’s events included research about childhood obesity, diabetes, texting and driving, urban and rural differences in prenatal exposure to toxic elements, improving bone health and minimizing fracture risk in rural West Virginians as well as rural perceptions of end-of-life care and code status.

According to the National Rural Health Association, rural Americans face a unique combination of factors that create disparities in health care not found in more urban areas including economic issues, cultural and social differences, geographic issues as well as educational shortcomings.

Rural research at Marshall is aimed at developing self-sustaining and effective programs in rural West Virginia that can serve as models to the rest of the country and the world.

“Today’s inaugural conference provided a forum for our students, residents, faculty and staff to share the vital information they’ve gathered over the past months about health issues that are unique to our state and rural regions,” said Jennifer T. Plymale, M.A., director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health. “Working hand-in-hand with the Appalachian Clinical and Translational Center at Marshall and the Higher Education Policy Commission, we are able to facilitate collaborative research projects that really can have a direct impact on our area.”

Today’s special speaker was Dr. Robert Walker, vice chancellor for health sciences at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and former professor and chairman of the department of family and community health at Marshall.

Images from today may be accessed at: http://jcesom.smugmug.com/2014/20141031-Rural-Health-Research/.

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Date Posted: Friday, October 31, 2014