HUNTINGTON, W.Va.—Marshall University’s Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health and the MU Center for Business and Economic Research have announced the winners of the 2001 Best Paper Award for Rural Health Research.

The following is a list of winners:
 

• $500 First Prize was awarded to Mary Beth Carlisle for “An Exploratory Study of Rural West Virginia: Resident’s Interest and Knowledge in Accessing Health Related Information over the Internet.” This paper evaluated the use of the Internet for health care related information retrieval by rural West Virginians. Survey research provided answers to substantive policy issues including education of providers, screening of web information and Internet access among the rural population. Carlisle, a registered nurse, is currently pursing a graduate degree in health care management at Marshall University.

 
• $50 Honorable Mention was awarded to Yuan Rong Jia for “Why are West Virginia Hospitals Facing Financial Problems?” This paper provided a preliminary econometric analysis of profits rates and a variety of service provision characteristics in 52 hospitals in the state. She found that there is a strong positive correlation between profit rates and bed occupancy rates in the state. This suggests that changing demographic conditions and Medicaid/Medicare inpatient rules may be stressing the continuing viability of several hospitals in the state. These findings imply important policy considerations for rural health care provision. Jia received her masters in Business Administration from Marshall University this past Saturday.

 
• $50 Honorable Mention was awarded to Megan Boggess for “Rough Riders of Lincoln County: The Travels and Travails of Paramedics in Rural Appalachia.” This study investigated the relationship between paramedic service delivery and the complexity of the physical environment in Lincoln County, W.Va. Using a rich qualitative data set derived from extensive field research in Lincoln County, this study identified key infrastructure related health care service delivery challenges in the region. This work also identified key health related issues involved with extensive travel related delays in emergency service delivery. Boggess received a bachelor’s degree in Geography this past Saturday and will be leading a research team this summer on rural health care research in the state.

 
• Faculty Mentor Awards: Special faculty mentorship awards for assistance in these projects have been awarded to Dr. Ashish Chandra, in the division of Marketing an Management at the MU Graduate School of Management for guiding Carlisle and to Dr. Peggy Gripshover, in the MU Department of Geography, for her guidance of Boggess.