February 2023 Chronicles

Published by Kinnadi Walker on

New Projects 

Dr. Sujan Anreddy is PI of the Crash Portal grant recently awarded from the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety. National Highway Traffic Safety Authority (NHTSA) requires the Statewide Traffic records Coordinating Committee (STRCC) to address issues relating to crash related data access and processing in the state as well as improving data availability and interoperability. In an effort to ensure that the necessary data is readily available for FY 2024 strategic purposes in the planning of target areas and education awareness across the state for impaired driving, occupant protection, speed, youth, elderly, pedestrian, motorcycle, bicyclist fatalities, and Commercial motor vehicles, the Crash Data Portal is needed to provide a central location where reporting documents can be retrieved and readily available for MOHS staff, local, county, and state jurisdictions for making data driven decisions based on latest available data.

Dr. Sheena Gardner will serve as an evaluator for the “2022 RED Report.” This report is being compiled for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.  

Project Updates

As part of the Mississippi Child Care Quality Support System Project funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Dr. Heather Hanna, Bradley Long, and Callie Poolefacilitated a meeting between child care providers and the Mississippi State Department of Human Services staff and invited guests to discuss child care quality. 

Dr. Heather Hanna, Callie Poole, Bradley Long, and Laure Bell helped facilitate the Early Childhood Development coalition charter signing at the Mississippi Children’s Museum in Jackson, MS on February 28. The coalition’s mission is ensure the implementation of a comprehensive, high-quality early childhood developmental and behavioral health system that fully engages families, providers, and community-based service professionals as partners. (Pictured above is the entire Early Childhood Development coalition; photo credit: UMMC)

Personnel News

Delaney Foster completed the “Competing for Federal Grants” course through The Grantsmanship Center.  More info www.tgci.com/training/online-competing-for-federal-grants. 

Wolfgang Frese Survey Research Laboratory

The Survey Research Laboratory (SRL) completed the Chesapeake Bay Coastal Flooding Survey. For this research project, the SRL collaborated with researchers from Virginia Tech to survey households located in flood prone areas of the Chesapeake Bay. An addressed-based sample (ABS) was randomly drawn from 84 census block groups representing areas along the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Maryland that have a 90% chance of experiencing flood waters of up to 2 feet in the next five years. The ABS cases were linked with active telephone numbers at a match rate of approximately 35%. Using this sample of telephone numbers, a survey was administered to 300 respondents. The survey focused on the respondents’ experiences with flooding and willingness to relocate.

Presentations & Conference Participation


(Pictured above: Sarah Rendon)

Seitz, H. H. & Rendon, S. (2023, February 9-11). Transforming health communication pedagogy through community engagement and experiential learning [Poster presentation]. American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Conference on General Education, Pedagogy, and Assessment, New Orleans, LA, United States.


This month, Dr. Devon Brenner visited Morehead State University in Morehead, KY to give a presentation on rural education to preservice teachers and faculty. (Pictured above.)

Paul, M., Wicks, S., Sinclair, H. C. (Feb, 2023), It goes both ways: Friend opinions affect romantic relationships and romantic partner opinions affect friendships. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Atlanta, GA. 

Publications & Reports

Robertson, A. A., Gardner, S., Dembo, R., Dennis, M., Pankow, J., & Wilson, K. J. (February, 2023). Impact of implementation interventions to improve substance use service delivery on recidivism among justice‑involved youth. Health & Justice, 11. doi.org/10.1186/s40352-023-00210-3

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