Building Heart-Healthy Communities
Even though heart disease is largely preventable, it’s still the leading cause of death in the United States, and in Mississippi, where we have the second highest rate of heart disease in America. Heart disease is not shared equally among all communities. In Mississippi alone, there are more than 162 thousand people with coronary heart disease….
National Diabetes Month: Preventing Diabetes Problems
How many Mississippians do you know? Is it more than seven? If you said yes, then you probably know someone with diabetes. 1 in 7 Mississippians have diabetes. That’s about 333,000 people, which is why diabetes is a priority at UProot. At UProot, we talk a lot about preventing diabetes, but today we want to…
Creating a Culture of Health: Health Literacy Month
One of our goals for improving the health of Mississippi is to increase health literacy. Health literacy is a Social Determinant of Health, and improving it was one of the original goals we set in 2022, and updated in 2024. What IS health literacy, and how can we improve it? Thankfully, October is Health Literacy…
Creating a Culture of Health
Last month, we took a look at how UProot’s mission has evolved in the past couple of years. One important way to address the social determinants of health is to screen infants and children for many of the conditions that can be easily prevented or treated in childhood. One of our goals for 2024 is…
UProot Updates
Updates to the State Health Improvement Plan for 2024 Since the inception of UProot, our plan to improve the health of Mississippi has been transparent. Transparency is key to how UProot works. Our partners can’t help improve health without knowing the plan. Our 2022 State Health Improvement Plan, which we call the SHIP, was the…
Galloway Family Farm: Growing More Than Just Food
One of the pillars of our work at UProot (you can read about it in our State Health Improvement Plan) is to tackle Food Insecurity. Food Insecurity is when people do not have enough quality food to ensure their health. This can mean insufficient food, or that the only available food does not provide the…
Sun Safety for You and Your Community
School’s out, and so is the sun, all day long. While outdoor activity is important for good health, too much sun exposure can lead to skin cancer. Prevention is a crucial component of a culture of health. Preventing skin cancer requires protection from UV rays all year, not just during the summer. UV rays can…
Partner Spotlight: The Department of Mental Health and the Continuum of Care
2024 is the 75th anniversary of Mental Health Awareness Month. There are myriad connections between physical health, mental health, and the community. The social determinants of health, one of UProot’s two priority areas, affect mental health as much as they do physical health. The Continuum of Care For the Mississippi State Department of Mental Health,…
Utica Food Club: Fighting a Food Desert with Community Organizing
Access to quality food is crucial to UProot’s highest priorities: obesity and the social determinants of health (SDOH). After a grocery store left Utica, Mississippi, residents organized to address the fact that their community had become a food desert. Utica: From agricultural haven to food desert Since the ’90s, the economy and population of Utica…
Operation Shoestring: Better Health through Listening
Nutrition, exercise, and mental health are critical when it comes to improving the health of your community. Sometimes, finding a place to safely exercise can be hard. In 1968, this was the call to action for Operation Shoestring when local organizers wanted safe playgrounds in Jackson. These days, Operation Shoestring is primarily known for quality…