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STARKVILLE — There is a new vehicle in town, and its purpose is as unique as its insides.
The Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal, RURAL, study mobile exam unit arrived in Oktibbeha County in late November and began seeing patients for the study the week of Dec. 5.
It could be here until mid-summer.
The mobile exam unit, set up at OCH Regional Medical Center, is a single 53-foot gooseneck trailer that holds medical equipment to perform CT scans, electrocardiograms and other lab work, principal investigator for RURAL study in Mississippi Dr. Ervin Fox said.
“The purpose of the mobile exam unit is to build a great, critical comprehensive clinical assessment of the participants coming through,” Fox said. “They get their blood checked for cholesterol and glucose. They also get urine samples to see if there’s protein in the urine. … They, of course, get your blood pressure and weight, and they get scans of your heart to see how it’s functioning, what the structure of the heart is, how the heart valves are moving.”
The RURAL study is a five-year national study that began in 2019 and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. It aims to better understand why people living in rural areas suffer from heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders more than those living in urban areas.
The mobile exam unit will visit 10 counties across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky, seeking a total of 4,600 participants. Two counties in Mississippi are being tested for the study: Oktibbeha and Panola.
Fox said ideally the study wants 718 participants from Oktibbeha County and 617 from Panola County. Participants of all races, ethnicities, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds are welcome, but they must be 25-64 years old and have been a resident of Oktibbeha County for at least two years.
Jackie Ellis, community advisory board member in Oktibbeha County, said mail-outs and calls across the county began around Oct. 17, and appointments are currently scheduled through mid-January. Interested parties can also visit RURALStudy.org to sign up.
More than 230 participants have already been scheduled, Fox said. While 718 is the priority, he said the study welcomes more than that for a sample representative of the county’s population.
“They are trying (to see) about five to six, at least, a day,” Fox said. “So they could be there as long as July. If the unit continues to run full throttle and everyone who signs up and is scheduled to come actually comes in, they do anticipate being there until July, but that will be the earliest they will leave because they seriously do want to get the 718 participants.”
Visibility in front of the OCH Regional Medical Center parking lot off Hospital Road was a key factor in locating the unit there, Fox said. The spot will be helpful to provide utilities and refuge in case of bad weather. It is also optimal in case there is a medical emergency.
“It’s good to be in a very visible place where people frequent,” Fox said. “OCH pretty much checks all of the boxes. There’s very easy access to electricity, wifi and water access. There’s plenty of room available for the 53-foot mobile exam unit. It’s just a very visible location where people cross by frequently.”
The exams take about three hours and include a blood pressure check, blood work, an EKG, a heart ultrasound and CT scan of heart and lungs. Participants will also get a FitBit bracelet and mobile phone for six months to learn more about how diet, exercise and sleep contribute to health. At the end of the study, participants will turn in the mobile phone but Fox said they can keep the FitBits.
After the participants are seen, they will receive a summarized report from their comprehensive exam for their own benefit and to give to their primary care physicians in case there are any underlying issues that need to be addressed, Fox said.
Once the initial research concludes, the finding will be given to county stakeholders to develop policies, if needed, for the health of the area.
“Beyond just being a help to the individual, it will help the community,” Fox said. “You get a summarized report of it all, and it’s shared with county stakeholders and partners so they can think of different policies or interventions that can help improve things in their community. And of course, it’s a national study, so these findings across the four states will allow them to get more national level interventions or policies based on the findings of the study.”
Oktibbeha County is the mobile unit’s first stop in Mississippi, and it will move to Panola County next. It just finished in Alabama, and after the research in Mississippi is finished, it will head to Louisiana.
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