Family and Children Research Unit
The Family and Children Research Unit (FCRU), a division of MSU’s Social Science Research Center, conducts research on issues affecting the health, safety and well-being of children and their families. The FCRU is a research and development clearinghouse for children’s issues in the state of Mississippi.
The FCRU is conducting research to evaluate HealthWorks!, an interactive children’s health facility in Tupelo, MS. HealthWorks! was implemented to help children in grades K-8 understand the potential impact of their daily choices on their health and well-being. Another evaluation project centers around the implementation of Mississippi’s Healthy Students Act of 2007. The FCRU’s component focuses on parents, youth and policymakers. This five-year study is contracted by The Mississippi Center for Health Policy and is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Another FCRU project is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration through the Delta Health Alliance. This project aims to increase the use of oral disease prevention services among children attending child care centers in the Mississippi Delta. It is also exploring the use of oral health communication strategies to educate professionals who work with children in the Mississippi Delta, as well as identifying policies and promoting programs to encourage cost-effective dental care delivery systems.
Additional FCRU projects have ranged from examining secondhand smoke exposure of young children in child care centers to exploring factors associated with poor oral health in the Mississippi Delta. The FCRU is also home to Mississippi KIDS COUNT, the leading resource for comprehensive information on the state’s children.
Family and Children Research Unit Web site
SSRC 2012 Annual Report
Click here to download the PDF version. Click here for the interactive online version.
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