The Lumberjack

Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: Community

Dr. Sheila Steinberg thinks that rural health and poverty too often reflect urban perspectives.

"We want more rural studies conducted by rural communities, working towards social change," Steinberg, the associate director of the California Center for Rural Policy, said.

The California Center for Rural Policy started in the fall of 2005 and, located on the Humboldt State campus, works to promote a healthy community through research, education, health and policy change. The center studies rural communities with the help of a strong internship program.

Steinberg, also an associate professor of sociology at Humboldt State, emphasizes the importance of research by rural communities. "Rural people have not had a voice. Too often people from urban places, or big universities go to a small community, conduct research and take the information back to the city."

The Rural Latino Project is a current CCRP project which focuses on the healthcare needs of rural Latinos in Northern California.

Nanette Yandell, an undergraduate research assistant for CCRP and Humboldt State sociology senior, has worked at the CCRP since June 1, 2006, and is currently the team leader for the Latino Project.

"There is a rapid increase in Latino population in Humboldt, and very little research. People are not even aware of the issues facing them," Yandell said.

The CCRP is conducting the Latino Project by using snowball sampling. The process of snowball sampling starts by seeking professional individuals in the community, interviewing them and then asking if they know other people who the center should interview, Steinberg said.

Eventually, the names the center hears start overlapping, meaning they are reaching a good number of people in the community, Steinberg added.

CCRP has currently interviewed approximately 45 individuals for the Latino Project and plans to interview more.

The Rural Health Information Survey is another project the center is working on. Twenty-three thousand surveys were mailed out to Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino and Trinity counties, and 3,000 surveys have been returned.

Analysis of the surveys will help show why there is such a large inequality between health care in rural areas compared to urban areas.

Mike Porter, a graduate research assistant running the survey analysis, said that after the center enters and analyzes the data, they will talk with local health care workers as well as policy makers in Sacramento.

Interns are educated in quantitative and qualitative data analysis, survey development, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and more, bringing a lot to the program. Students interested in interning for summer or fall 2007 can contact Steinberg at ss51@humboldt.edu.

There are also interns working on media projects, which include video design, graphic design, and public relations.

"There is a lot of hands-on research experience...You are dealing with real people, in the real world," Porter said.
The internship program is for all majors and is a great way to strengthen a resume. Steinberg emphasized that the CCRP has internship positions for students across the board. The CCRP looks at environmental as well as social concerns.

"The health of the environment is the health of the community and the health of the individual," Steinberg said.

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