Mississippi Public Health Institute

TO PROMOTE AND ADVOCATE PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE (MSPHI) IS IMPLEMENTING PROJECTS THAT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON PUBLIC AND MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS AS WELL AS PRIMARY CARE IN MISSISSIPPI. THESE PROJECTS FOCUS ON INNOVATIVE PRACTICES, EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTION, EVALUATION, AND TRUE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IN MISSISSIPPI. KEY PARTNERS INCLUDE THE MISSISSIPPI STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (MSDH), THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH (MDMH) AS WELL AS SEVERAL FOUNDATIONS.A SIGNIFICANT AND CHALLENGING HEALTH DISPARITY IN MISSISSIPPI IS INFANT AND MATERNAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS. FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN ARE MORE OFTEN AFFECTED. DURING 2021, MSPHI CONTINUED TO IMPLEMENT INNOVATIVE ACTIVITIES WITH FUNDING FROM MERCK FOUNDATION AND THE WK KELLOGG FOUNDATION IN JACKSON, MS AIMED AT ADDRESSING THIS CRISIS BY UTILIZING DOULAS TO ASSIST PREGNANT AND POST-PARTUM WOMEN. ADDITIONALLY DURING 2021, MSPHI WAS AWARDED FUNDING FROM UNITED HEALTH CARE FOR A PROJECT FOCUSED ON UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY TO MITIGATE RISK FOR ADVERSE PREGNANCY-RELATED PRENATAL AND POST-PARTUM HEALTH EVENTS. SINCE INCEPTION MSPHI DOULAS HAVE SUPPORTED MORE THAN 100 PREGNANT WOMEN WHILE EFFECTIVELY OBSERVING SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS. MSPHI CONTINUES TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES WITH PARTNERS TO ADDRESS THIS HEALTH CRISIS.MSPHI CONTINUES TO WORK WITH THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH TO SECURE FUNDING FROM THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (SAMHSA) TO ADDRESS MISSISSIPPI'S OPIOID EPIDEMIC. MSPHI HOUSES STAFF, MANAGES THE INITIAL COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN AND FACILITATED ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS NECESSARY TO ALIGN STATE AND FEDERAL RESOURCES TO MUSTER A COMPREHENSIVE AND COORDINATED PLAN AND RESPONSE FROM THE MENTAL HEALTH AND PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS. MSPHI PARTNERS WITH THE MSDH AND THE MDMH TO IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY-BASED WORK AIMED AT IMPLEMENTING DATA-DRIVEN ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY FROM OPIOID AND OTHER DRUG ABUSE AND MISUSE. MSPHI IS A MAJOR PARTNER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH OFFICE OF PHARMACY AND THEIR ACTIVITIES FOCUSED ON SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION AND CONTROL. THROUGH THESE EFFORTS MSPHI HAS CONVENED STATE-LEVEL PARTNERS TO COALESCE DATA AND ESTABLISHED NEW LINES OF COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION USING DIVERSE FUNDING STREAMS.

TO ENSURE THE FUTURE OF THE STATE'S PUBLIC HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE, MSPHI CONTINUED ITS PROGRAM OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE MISSISSIPPI BEHAVIORAL HEALTH LEARNING NETWORK (MBHLN), FOR THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH FACILITATING THE PROVISION OF TRAINING AND CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR PUBLICLY FUNDED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS. THIS ACTIVITY IS LEVERAGED TO INCLUDE BROAD TRAINING NEEDS RELATED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND PRIMARY CARE SYSTEMS AND PROVIDERS. FOR 2021, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC, THE MBHLN PROVIDED ON-LINE TRAINING TO INDIVIDUALS IN MULTIPLE STATES AND ACROSS ALL COUNTIES IN MISSISSIPPI.

AS A PARTNER TO MISSISSIPPI'S PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM, MSPHI HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE STATE'S COVID-19 RESPONSE. MSPHI RECEIVED FUNDING IN 2021 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND CDC TO ASSIST WITH MULTIPLE COVID-19-RELATED PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS AIMED AT INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS. MSPHI RECEIVED A SIGNIFICANT SUPPLEMENT TO CDC REACH FUNDING FROM CDC'S IMMUNIZATION BUREAU. WITH THIS FUNDING MSPHI SUPPORTED COMMUNITY-BASED ACTIVITIES THAT INCREASED IMMUNIZATION RATES AND COMPLIANCE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST.