“Adams County has been moving slowly to address health issues in the community, which includes broadening the focus on health topics beyond health insurance and access to care only and increasing the focus on health equity.”
—RAND Corporation
RWJF Culture of Health 5-Year Community Landscape Report: Adams County, Mississippi
Report Apr-01-2022 3-min read
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Report Publish Date: April 2022
This report summarizes Adams County, Mississippi’s health, wellbeing, and equity journey from 2016 to 2021, as part of RWJF’s Sentinel Communities Surveillance project.
Primary Takeaways
“Adams County’s capacity to address health and well-being is anchored by its main hospital, Merit Health Natchez, and supported by a network of small federally qualified health centers,” the authors write. “Efforts to promote population health and well-being are largely spearheaded by motivated community members. Furthermore, much of Adams County’s efforts around improving well-being revolve around ensuring the economic vitality of the community.”
At the start of the study, the county received substantial external funding for initiatives that addressed chronic diseases, but that support had dried up by the time this report was released.
Overview and Objectives
Begun in 2016, RWJF’s Sentinel Communities Surveillance project tracks how a Culture of Health is developing in 29 communities across the country. The authors wanted to describe key challenges, opportunities, and insights in Adams County.
Hypothesis or Approach
For this report, the authors conducted 27 hourlong, semi-structured interviews between early 2017 and early 2022. Interviewees came from several different types of organizations and sectors.
How This Influences Change
“Going forward, it will be important to track how Adams County is or is not making the connection between its racial history and health inequity, and the extent to which the county begins to assume a social determinants of health-centric approach rather than a healthcare-centric approach,” the authors write. “This will require collaborations among the healthcare system, local government, and community-based organizations, which has not been sustained yet in many notable ways. As Adams County contends with these challenges, other communities facing similar difficulties can learn what happens to the health narrative and investment in places with entrenched views of health issues, limited resources, and a slower pace to advance health equity.”
Research: Go Deeper
Adams County’s focus on health has largely remained unchanged over the past five years, though there are some notable areas of progress. There is continued awareness about key health issues facing the county, such as the high prevalence of chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes) and concerns about lack of healthcare access, but this has not translated to sustainable health investments or measurable improvements in health outcomes. While the county benefitted from a recent Health Impact Assessment (HIA) that documented concerns about health inequity, this focus has not meant large shifts in local conversations about what is driving those inequities, such as social determinants of health or a holistic approach to health and well-being. While health is not an explicit or centering priority of the county, there are efforts to address equity more broadly, particularly as it relates to economic revitalization and workforce development. Further, new political leadership and community inputs have spurred a greater focus on addressing the racial legacy of the region and the tensions that exist between the Black and White communities. Some of this work on economics and racial legacy could be leveraged in movements to advance health equity, though to date, those links have not been made clear.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, April 2022
Figure 1: Population characteristics for Adams County, Mississippi Page 2
Research Team
This study and report was conducted and created by the following people.
- RAND Corporation
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