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Health Department summarizes 2018 tobacco-settlement program results; UAMS explains rural-designation usage for student tracking
Summary
The Department of Health reported increases in health-education reach and Arkansas-based research and noted the acquisition of a mobile health unit; UAMS College of Public Health said it uses the 2010 census/OMB rural-urban definition only to track where students come from, not to allocate program funding.
Matt Gilmore of the Department of Health presented the 2018 tobacco settlement report, summarizing programmatic reach, evaluation and economic impact. Officials said health-education engagements rose (about 138,000 engagements cited), student research and Arkansas-based evaluations account for most activity (97% Arkansas-based research), and the department has purchased a mobile health unit to increase outreach to rural communities.
UAMS assistant dean Liz Gates explained that, for the College of Public Health, rural-versus-urban designations use the 2010 U.S. Census/OMB definition and are applied only to track student origin (the college’s goal is at least 20% of students from Arkansas rural counties). Gates clarified those designations are not used by the department to direct tobacco-settlement funding or program allocation in the materials presented to the committee.
Members asked for clarity about definitions and whether county designations affect funding; UAMS and Health Department staff said the OMB/census benchmark is used narrowly for student metrics and not for funding decisions in the presented reports.
