Arlesia L. Mathis, Ph.D.
University of Michigan-Flint
Junior Investigator, Public Health
Project Title: The Impact of Privatization of Primary Care Services In Florida Health Departments on Racial and Ethnic Populations
"I applied for the New Connections award because it gave me the opportunity to conduct research using secondary data analysis. Previously, I had not seen that many opportunities to receive research support for secondary analysis. In addition, I felt that the New Connections award would allow me more time to work toward developing a research agenda. As a new faculty member, it was important to start right away developing research that makes a significant contribution to my field. The New Connections award has allowed me to attend trainings and conferences that otherwise I would be unable to attend. It also allowed me to reduce my teaching load so that I could devote more time to research, which in the long run, will help me to attain tenure."
Project Description
The outsourcing of local health department services may be one of the most important transformations in the nation's public health system. Recent research shows that about three quarters of local health departments have privatized some public health services. The decision to privatize generally depends more on a community's unique characteristics and service delivery system than on a specific type of needed service.
Mathis' study examines how changes to the delivery of primary care services affect access and health outcomes in racial and ethnic populations served by Florida's health departments. Her evaluation uses zip codes as the area for analysis.
The methodology for analyzing primary care access uses a scoring system that assigns a numerical score to each zip code, which represents the relative capacity to provide basic primary care services within an area. To measure health outcomes, the study uses health status indicators related to primary care.
The final analysis uses retrospective, longitudinal population-based data obtained from the United States Census and the Florida Department of Health to examine the health status of racial and ethnic populations in areas with contracted primary care versus the health status of those in areas where county health departments provide primary care programs.
Biography
Arlesia Mathis, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the department of health sciences and administration at the University of Michigan-Flint. She holds a Ph.D. in public health from the University of South Florida.
In addition to the RWJF grant, Mathis received in August 2007 an LRP grant in Health Disparities Research from the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities for her research in racial and ethnic health disparities. Mathis holds Bachelor of Science degrees in microbiology and psychology from the Louisiana State University and a Master of Arts in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of West Florida. She is also a Certified Public Manager.
Prior coming to the University of Michigan-Flint, she worked as a statistician at the Florida Center for Health Statistics and as an operations and management consultant at the Florida Department of Health in the area of minority health.
She has 20 years of experience working in the public and private sector and was awarded numerous professional and academic awards, including the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship, the Delores Auzenne Fellowship, the Kosove Award, the Davis Productivity Award, the Superior Accomplishment Award and the Chancellor's Award.
