Robert McMillen
Associate Professor
Psychology
robert.mcmillen@ssrc.msstate.edu
Office – (662)325-2742
Dr. McMillen is an Associate Professor with a joint appointment with the Social Science Research Center and the Department of Psychology. His research applies computer-assisted telephone interview methods as well as Web- and school-based survey methods to measure the social climate surrounding health issues.
Since 2000, he has been the project director of the National Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control. This annual survey is a cooperative project with the Social Science Research Center and the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Julius B. Richmond Center. Dr. McMillen also serves as PI for the Surveillance and Evaluation Services grant for the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control.
His research has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, the Mississippi State Department of Health, The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, the American Cancer Society, North Mississippi Medical Center, and the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program.
Through the Mississippi Health Policy Research Center, Dr. McMillen has published numerous fact sheets and policy papers that have informed decisions about health risk behaviors and chronic disease in Mississippi. His research has been published in Pediatrics, the Journal of Rural Health, the Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association, and Psychological Record. Dr. McMillen also serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee of The Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence for Protecting Children from Secondhand Smoke, and as the Committee Chair of the Environmental Tobacco Smoke Prevention Committee of the Mississippi Tobacco Control Network.
In recognition of his research contributions, he was awarded the 2006 Prevention of Cancer in Mississippi Award by the Mississippi Partnership of Comprehensive Cancer Control. He is a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and holds a Master of Science degree in experimental psychology from Mississippi State University and a Doctoral degree in social psychology from the University of Georgia.
Recent Publications
- Winickoff, J., McMillen, R., Vallone, D., Pearson, J., Tanski, S., Dempsey, J., Healton, C., Klein, J., & Abrams, A. (in press). Attitudes about banning menthol in cigarettes: Results from a nationally representative survey.American Journal of Public Health.
- Winickoff, J., Tanski, S., McMillen, R., Ross, K., Lipstein, E, Best, D., Hipple, B., Friebely, J., & Klein, J. (in press). Acceptability of Testing Children for Tobacco Smoke Exposure: A National Parent Survey. Pediatrics.
- Winickoff JP, Friebely J, Tanski SE, Sherrod C, Matt GE, Hovel MF, McMillen RC. (2009). Beliefs about the health effects of “thirdhand” smoke and home smoking bans. Pediatrics, 123, e74-e79.
- Wellman, R., McMillen, R., & DiFranza, J. (2008). Assessing College Students’ Autonomy over Smoking with the Hooked on Nicotine Checklist. The Journal of American College Health, 56, 5, 549-553.
- Hitt, H., McMillen, R., Thornton-Neaves, T., Koch, K., and Cosby, A. (2007). Comorbidity of Obesity and Pain in a General Population: Results from the Southern Pain Prevalence Study. The Journal of Pain, 8, 430-436.
- McMillen, R., Gill, D., & Valentine, N. (2007). The leading health indicators of Mississippi: A report from the 2004 Mississippi Health Assessment. Journal of the Mississippi Medical Association, 47, 354-359.
- Winickoff, J., Tanski, S., McMillen, R., Hipple, B., Friebely, J, Healey, E.. (2006). A National Survey of the Acceptability of Quitlines to Help Parents Quit Smoking. Pediatrics 117, e695-e700. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/117/4/e695.
- Cosby, A., Hitt, H., Thornton-Neaves, T., McMillen, R., Koch, K., Sitzman, T., Person, E., & Parvin, S. (2005). Profiles of Pain in Mississippi: Results from the Southern Pain Prevalence Study. Journal of the Mississippi Medical Association, 46, 301-309.
- Kavanaugh, M., McMillen, R., Pascoe, J., Southward, L., Winickoff, J., and Weitzman, M. (2005). The Co-Occurrence of Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Smoking in a National Survey of Mothers. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 5, 341-348.
- Winickoff, J., Tanski, S., McMillen, R. C., Klein, J., Rigotti, N., & Weitzman, M. (2005). Child health care clinician’s use of medications to help parents quit smoking: A national patient survey. Pediatrics, 115, 1013-1017.
- McMillen, R. C., Breen, J., & Cosby, A. G. (2004). Rural urban differences in the social climate surrounding environmental tobacco smoke: A report from the 2001 Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control. Journal of Rural Health, 20, 7-16.
- McMillen, R.C. (2004). Review of the book Learning to smoke: Tobacco use in the west. Journal of the American Medical Association, 291, 114.
- Winickoff, J. P., McMillen, R.C., Browen, C. C., Klein, J. D., Rigotti, N. A., Tanski, S. E., & Weitzman, M. (2003). Addressing parental smoking in pediatrics and family practice: A national survey of parents. Pediatrics, 112, 1146-1151.
- McMillen, R. C., Winickoff, J. P., Klein, J. D., & Weitzman, M. (2003). U.S. adult attitudes and practices regarding smoking restrictions and child exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS): Changes in the social climate from 2000 to 2001. Pediatrics, 112, e55-e60. Retrieved July 8, 2003, from http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/112/1/e55.
Current and Recent Grants
Surveillance and Evaluation Services for the Mississippi Tobacco Control Program
July 2009- June 2010
Principal Investigator
Mississippi State Department of Health
AAP Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence for Children
July 2009- June 2010
Data Sets Project
Principal Investigator, Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute
AAP Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence for Children
July 2009- June 2010
Best Practices Project
Site Principal Investigator, Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute
2009-2010 Mississippi Youth Tobacco Survey
July 2009- June 2010
Principal Investigator
Mississippi State Department of Health
Assessment of Proposed Revisions to the Youth Tobacco Survey: Impact on Measures of Youth Tobacco Use
September 2007-February 2009
Principal Investigator
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Tobacco Disparities Strategic Plan 2007
Data Analyst, Subcontractor to Mississippi Department of Health (PI)
August 2006- June 2007
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Delta Health Assessment, Health Services Research
Awarded, $61,509, August 2006-July 2007
Principal Investigator, sub grant
Delta Health Alliance
2007 North Mississippi Community Health Survey
April 2007-December 2007
Co- Principal Investigator
North Mississippi Health Services
Mississippi Prevention and Wellness Survey
October 2006-April 2007
Principal Investigator
Wellness@Work Partners
Public support for smoke free legislation in Mississippi and the expected economic and health impacts of smoke free legislation.
July 2005-June 2006
Principal Investigator
The Bower Foundation.
March 6, 2011SSRC 2012 Annual Report
Click here to download the PDF version. Click here for the interactive online version.
Subscribe to The Chronicles
For Email Newsletters you can trust.