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Rural communities face unique challenges to health and health care. With 34% of the population in Oklahoma living in rural communities, compared to just 14% nationally, these challenges are especially striking in our state.
To explore this issue and share ideas for how Oklahoma can improve rural health, TSET convened a panel of experts, including:
- Mark Doescher, MD, MSPH, associate director of community outreach and engagement at Stephenson Cancer Center
- Stacie Pace, executive director of the Rural Health Network of Oklahoma; director of Oklahoma State University's Rural Health Network
- Tara Jackson, DrPH, MHA, director of Project ECHO at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences
- John Browne, mayor of McAlester
Panelists discussed the top challenges in rural health, including hospital closures, provider shortages, limited health literacy, food insecurity and low rates of cancer screening.
According to Dr. Doescher, "the per capita physician supply is less than half of what it is in urban areas in Oklahoma and for primary care, it’s about two-thirds or even less." He went on to explain that cancer screening in rural areas is extremely limited, leading to higher rates of mortality in those communities.
The panel discussed models for improving health outcomes in rural Oklahoma. Solutions included utilizing telehealth technology, mobile cancer screening programs, regional expansion of larger hospital systems, traveling provider programs and inventive programs to recruit and retain providers in rural communities.
A recording of the event is available on TSET’s Facebook page.
A new study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine shows that higher e-cigarette prices and taxes reduces teen use. This finding underscores the power of policy in public health and presents an opportunity for lawmakers to protect youth from a lifetime of addiction.
The paper showed that raising e-cigarette taxes by $0.50 and $1 tax leads to a 6.3% and 12.2% respective decrease in teen usage over a 30-day period. Even just a 10% increase in the e-cigarette price slashed total demand by up to 11.5% and significantly reduced the number of days teens vaped.
The results were similar to outcomes in tobacco tax increases, which have been effective in lowering smoking rates across the country.
Read more about the study HERE.
Perspective: Julie Bisbee in the Journal Record
Fewer than 43% of children in Oklahoma are eating vegetables daily, and nearly 73% drink sugar-sweetened beverages at least once a week. The data underscore the importance of investing in programs and policies that address the underlying causes of obesity.
However, Oklahoma is well-positioned to make progress in preventing and reducing obesity through the state obesity plan, Health for a Lifetime.
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Episode 37 of the TSET Healthy Living Podcast examines nutrition and obesity prevention in our state, especially among youth.
Guests include Jae Morrison of the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Christy White, the child nutrition director of Hinton Public Schools and students at Jenks Middle School.
"What we eat is really going to predict how we're going to feel as we go through the rest of our day," said White. "We see a lot of students that have a hard time making it through the day. They're sluggish, they feel tired, they might feel dehydrated. I hope that this will make it very clear that we can really, for the most part, choose how we want to feel for the rest of our day."
Available on TSET's website and everywhere podcasts are listened to: Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, PodBean, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
TSET is staffed by a dedicated and passionate group of people. This month, we would like to introduce Terry Rousey.
Terry is the Program Officer for Statewide and Research Grants at TSET. Before joining TSET he served as a Youth Tobacco Policy and Enforcement Specialist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Prior to that, Terry was a Program Specialist with the Colorado Office of Behavioral Health. He started his professional career in Oklahoma in various state and local positions. He has significant consulting experience and knowledge of tobacco control programs and state and local policy efforts.
Terry has served as a representative on several National tobacco control boards. Terry has an Masters in Public Health from Walden University.
Read about the rest of the team HERE.
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