In 2023, the Social Science Research Center executed new and continuing work. With a total budget of over $13 million, our researchers impacted communities worldwide and around Mississippi. Read online at www.ssrc.msstate.edu/annual-report-2023.
Project ECHO for early childhood professionals and families of children birth to 8 years old is now online at earlychildecho.com.
Work from the Mississippi Tobacco Data group was cited in at article by WJTV. Read at https://bit.ly/3T8LIO2.
Dr. Kathleen Ragsdale, Dr. Mary Read-Wahidi, and Deja Howard—SSRC Undergraduate Research Assistant—gave an invited presentation at the Feed the Future Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) 3.0 Research Retreat on December 6 in St. Louis, Missouri. Drs. Ragsdale and Read-Wahidi are the lead PIs of the Gender & Youth Managed Research Area of the SIL 3.0 project, which has been competitively funded for another five years by USAID.
On January 9, Callie Poole, Mary Read-Wahidi, Heather Hanna, and Bradley Long provided training to staff from MSU Extension's Nurturing Homes Initiative on administering the Child Care Market Rate Survey to the home-based child care providers participating in their program.
Aleah Bradford, an MSU freshman, joined the SSRC’s Gender Impacts Lab as an undergraduate research assistant through MSU’s BRIDGES Scholar Program. Originally from New Orleans, LA, Aleah is pursuing pre-med studies and is majoring in biological sciences. With this major, she plans to attend medical school to pursue a Doctor of Physiotherapy degree. Her assistantship is supported by the Office for Research and Economic Development and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion.
Madeline Burdine joined the SSRC as a Research Associate. As a member of the SSRC’s Gender Impacts Lab, Burdine is working with Drs. Kathleen Ragsdale and Mary Read-Wahidi on a number of activities related to the Soybean Innovation Lab and Fish Innovation Lab. Burdine received a BA in Communication from Mississippi State University in 2020. She received an MS in Integrated Marketing Communication from the University of Mississippi in 2022, where she is currently pursuing an MA in Sociology with a minor in Gender Studies. Burdine’s skill set and research interests are well-aligned with the Gender Impacts Lab’s goals and needs focused on gender, development, and public health in a global context.
Katerina Sergi will participate in an Early Career Researcher Committee initiated by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Special Interest Group—Motivation.
Billy Brister, Dr. Blythe McCance, and Chuck Dawkinsof the MASEP office attended the Mississippi Justice Court Clerks Convention in Bay St. Louis on Sept. 6-8. Dr. McCance gave a presentation to the group on the final day.
Valentine, N., Winter, A., McClelland, E., Huell, M., & McMillen, R. (2023). Tobacco use trends among Mississippi youth following the 1997 settlement of Mississippi’s Medicaid lawsuit and subsequent tobacco prevention initiatives, an update. Journal of the Mississippi Medical Association, 64(11/12), 1-12. https://jmsma.scholasticahq.com/article/91490-tobacco-use-trends-among-mississippi-youth-following-the-1997-settlement-of-mississippi-s-medicaid-lawsuit-and-subsequent-tobacco-prevention-initiativ
Callie Poole attended the Build Initiative's 2023 Conference in Los Angeles from November 29 to December 1. The themes were Strengthening Systems, Improving Quality, and Advancing Equity.
Sergi, K., Gardner, S., and Baird-Thomas, C. (January 8, 2024). Student Screening Data for Risk Behaviors - Fall 2023. Virtual presentation to Project AWARE partners and Mississippi Achievement School District Superintendent.
Gardner, S., Baird-Thomas, C., Sergi, K. Mapping the Referral Process for Mental Health Supports in Mississippi Achievement School District (MASD). (February 2023). SSRC for Project AWARE in Mississippi (AIM), partner hub meeting.
McMillen, R. (2024). The Social Climate of Tobacco Control: Child’s Doctor Counseling to Parents, MDU Department of Psychology Clinical Brown Bag
The Survey Research Laboratory is collecting data for a Harvard/MassGeneral, NIH-funded, randomized controlled smoking cessation intervention trial. The project is titled “ABC to Quit: Assessment of Biomarkers in Children to Help Parents Quit Tobacco.” This research is testing whether adding biomarker measurement for child tobacco smoke exposure and personalized biomarker feedback to parents about their child's toxin exposure will increase smoking cessation among parents. The SRL is administering 12-month follow-up surveys to assess smoking cessation among participants.
Ragsdale, K., Read-Wahidi, M.R., Mudege, N.M., Iannotti, L., Muzungaire, L., & Funduluka, P. (2024). Sensory panel results of a dried fish powder supplement among caregivers and young children in Zambia. Public Health Nutrition. doi: 10.1017/S1368980023002586. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980023002586
Mudege, N., Ragsdale, K., Kakwasha, K., Read-Wahidi, M., Muzungaire, L., & Kolbila, R. (2024, January). Complementary Food for Africa+Dried Fish Powder (ComFA+Fish) – Scaling Recommendations. USAID, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish. Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University. 7 pp. http://tinyurl.com/bdd86wp7
Agrilinks / Chileya, A. (2024 January 29). Porridge Set to Improve Women’s Participation in Fishing in Southern Zambia. [Web log post]. USAID Feed the Future, Agrilinks.https://agrilinks.org/post/porridge-set-improve-womens-participation-fishing-southern-zambia
Hanna, H., McCown, J., Grace, C., Long, B., Brown, D., Poole, C., Bell, L. (November 2023). Exploring a Market Failure: The 2023 Mississippi Child Care Teacher Wages Survey. https://scl.ssrc.msstate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Wages-Survey-Full-Report-Formatted-compressed.pdf
Bell, L., Hanna, H., Poole, C. (September 2023). State Strategies for Increasing Child Care Wages. https://scl.ssrc.msstate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Final-Childcare-Wages-Brief.10.12.23.-compressed.pdf
Stouffer, C., McClelland, E., Sergi, K. Semi-Annual State Tobacco Prevention and Control Evaluation Report. (February 2023). SSRC for the Office of Tobacco Control, Mississippi State Department of Health.
Klunk, T., Hanna, H., Bell, L., Poole, C., Tatum, M., McCown, J., Baird-Thomas, C., Brown, D. (Spring 2024). Investing in Our Future: A Look at How We Support Our Children. https://drive.google.com/file/d/10lOuzyee8zXsUHmiJUI121TgMWfZOq_J/view
