Meeting The Need

For thousands of rural Georgians, getting preventive care or primary, dental or mental health treatment is simply not an option.
The prescription?

Georgia Southern is establishing the Rural Health Research Institute in an effort to address pressing health problems that compromise the well-being of thousands of people in southeast Georgia.

“Georgia Southern University is committed to research that will improve the lives of those in southeast Georgia,” said University President Brooks Keel. “There are many people in this area who do not receive the health care they need for a variety of reasons. Our region of the state is located in a federally designated Health Professionals Shortage Area and surrounded by 21 counties that are classified as being in rural persistent poverty,” Keel said. “There is no question that the need for solutions is great, and we believe Georgia Southern is uniquely poised to become the leader in rural health research in Georgia and the United States.”

The Rural Health Research Institute will be made up of current Georgia Southern researchers and new faculty research hires from various fields whose mission will be to find ways to reduce health disparities and improve the outcomes of patients in rural areas. The researchers will come from many areas of the University, including various departments of: the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH), the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS), and the College of Health and Human Sciences (CHHS).

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“Georgia Southern University is committed to research that will improve the lives of those in southeast Georgia.” – President Brooks Keel

Bringing faculty members from different disciplines together to work in one area of research was one of the goals Keel set for the University when he assumed its presidency last year.

“Each of these researchers will bring a unique set of qualifications to the Rural Health Research Institute that will be incredibly valuable as they find ways to tackle this multi-faceted problem,” said Keel.

As a part of the initiative, the University will hire a cluster of two professors and three associate professors with expertise in rural health research and a track record of securing research funding to enhance the research capacity of the Institute.

“By bringing this team of researchers together, Georgia Southern will advance research that we believe will make life better for thousands of people who are vulnerable and underserved,” said University Vice President for Research Charles Patterson. “Rural communities face unique health challenges. We believe it is important to look at more than just the health care system, but to also research the patients’ physical and emotional needs and how they can be better served by reducing barriers to health care in their communities.”

The Institute is the result of a faculty-driven cluster hiring proposal selected by Keel to bolster the research endeavors of the University. The Institute initiative is being led by directors from each of the colleges connected by the Institute: psychology professor Bryant Smalley from CLASS and public health professor Jacob Warren of JPHCOPH will serve as co-executive directors, and nursing professor Elaine Marshall from CHHS will serve as the director of faculty and student engagement. “The Rural Health Research Institute will combine strengths from across the University to address dire health problems seen both in our area and in rural areas throughout the country,” said Smalley. Warren added “the health needs of rural residents are so profound that the University’s support of the Institute will make a tremendous impact in many people’s lives.”