# overview
Dr. Alva O. Ferdinand is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management and the deputy director of the Southwest Rural Health Research Center at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. She is generally interested in the impact of laws on public health outcomes. She has been actively developing a research agenda that incorporates her interest in public health policy issues. She has examined such issues as the impact of tax-exemption status on the provision of community benefits among various hospital ownership types, the relationship between neighborhood built environments and physical activity, and the effects of texting-while-driving bans on roadway safety. She has additionally examined variations in the burden of chronic diseases across the urban-rural continuum including cancer and diabetes. Dr. Ferdinand holds a law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law and a doctor of public health degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

# keywords[]
8.1 Organisation And Delivery Of Services

# keywords[]
8 Health And Social Care Services Research

# keywords[]
8.3 Policy, Ethics, And Research Governance

# keywords[]
8 Health And Social Care Services Research

# keywords[]
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

# keywords[]
Rural Health, Disparities, Healthy People 2020, Rural Healthy People 2020, Access To Care

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of Alabama at Birmingham - (Birmingham, Alabama, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Oakwood University - (Huntsville, Alabama, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of Alabama at Birmingham - (Birmingham, Alabama, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Michigan State University - (East Lansing, Michigan, United States)

# publications[].label
Community benefits provided by religious, other nonprofit, and for-profit hospitals: a longitudinal analysis 2000-2009.

# publications[].label
Market characteristics associated with community health assessments by local health departments.

# publications[].label
The Changing Landscape of Diabetes Mortality in the United States Across Region and Rurality, 1999-2016.

# publications[].label
Impact of texting laws on motor vehicular fatalities in the United States.

# publications[].label
Impact Of Changing An Urban Environment On Pediatric Obesity Rates: Evidence From A Quasi-experiment

# publications[].label
The relationship between built environments and physical activity: a systematic review.

# publications[].label
Heart Disease and Stroke in Rural America

# publications[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# publications[].label
Communicating With Patients About Software for Enhancing Privacy in Secondary Database Research Involving Record Linkage: Delphi Study.

# publications[].label
Racial, Rural, and Regional Disparities in Diabetes-Related Lower-Extremity Amputation Rates, 2009-2017.

# publications[].label
Local Public Health Department Characteristics Associated With Likelihood to Participate in National Accreditation.

# publications[].label
Modernizing payment to critical access hospitals: A proposal for the next iteration of the Flex Program.

# publications[].label
Interventions aimed at addressing unplanned hospital readmissions in the U.S.: A systematic review

# publications[].label
Data Sharing in a Decentralized Public Health System: Lessons From COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance.

# publications[].label
Factors affecting the likelihood of a hospitalization following a diabetes-related emergency department visit: A regional and urban-rural analysis.

# publications[].label
Texting-While-Driving Bans and Motor Vehicle Crash-Related Emergency Department Visits in 16 US States: 2007-2014.

# publications[].label
Rural Healthy People 2020: New Decade, Same Challenges.

# publications[].label
High impact nutrition and dietetics journals' use of publication procedures to increase research transparency.

# publications[].label
Emergency department visits for nontraumatic dental conditions: a systematic literature review.

# publications[].label
Communicating With Patients About Software for Enhancing Privacy in Secondary Database Research Involving Record Linkage: Delphi Study (Preprint)

# publications[].label
Healthy People 2020: Rural Areas Lag In Achieving Targets For Major Causes Of Death.

# publications[].label
Nutrition and Weight Status in Rural Areas

# publications[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# publications[].label
Uncertainty, scarcity and transparency: Public health ethics and risk communication in a pandemic.

# publications[].label
Overstatement of results in the nutrition and obesity peer-reviewed literature.

# publications[].label
Associations between driving performance and engaging in secondary tasks: a systematic review.

# publications[].label
Urban Park Development and Pediatric Obesity Rates: A Quasi-Experiment Using Electronic Health Record Data.

# publications[].label
Technology is better than ever  but thousands of Americans still die in car crashes every year

# publications[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# publications[].label
Immunizations and Infectious Disease in Rural America

# publications[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# publications[].label
The impact of texting bans on motor vehicle crash-related hospitalizations.

# publications[].label
Rural and Urban Differences in COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors.

# publications[].label
Congestive heart failure-related hospital deaths across the urban-rural continuum in the United States.

# publications[].label
Dental hygienists' scope of practice regulations and preventable non-traumatic dental emergency department visits: A cross-sectional study of 10 U.S. states.

# publications[].label
Emerging Science, Personal Protective Equipment Guidance, and Resource Scarcity: Inaction and Inequity for Workers in Essential Industries.

# publications[].label
Data Sharing in a Decentralized Public Health System: Lessons from COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance (Preprint)

# publications[].label
Rural Access to Quality Health Insurance

# publications[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# publications[].label
Rural healthy people 2030: New decade, new challenges.

# publications[].label
Assessing Diabetes and Factors Associated with Foregoing Medical Care among Persons with Diabetes: Disparities Facing American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic, Low Income, and Southern Adults in the U.S. (2011-2015).

# publications[].label
Predictors of Hospital Patient Satisfaction as Measured by HCAHPS: A Systematic Review.

# publications[].label
The Impact of IRS Tax Policy on Hospital Community Benefit Activities.

# publications[].label
Diabetes-related hospital mortality in the U.S.: A pooled cross-sectional study of the National Inpatient Sample.

# publications[].label
Identifying and prioritizing benefits and risks of using privacy-enhancing software through participatory design: a nominal group technique study with patients living with chronic conditions.

# publications[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# publications[].label
Mental Health and Mental Disorders: A Rural Challenge

# publications[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# editorOf[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# editorOf[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# editorOf[].label
Rural Health Education and Community-based Programs

# editorOf[].publisher
Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

# researcherOn[].label
Malpractice Claims Among Rural and Urban Providers: Do State Telehealth Laws Make a Difference?

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
Health Resources and Services Administration - (Rockville, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
How Well are We Doing Meeting Healthy People 2020 Mortality Objectives at Midterm? Rural v. Urban Differences

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
Health Resources and Services Administration - (Rockville, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
Trends and Predictors of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Light of the Opioid Crisis Along the Urban-Rural Continuum

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
Health Resources and Services Administration - (Rockville, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
Health Resources and Services Administration - (Rockville, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
Examining the Legal Landscape in Rural America: Implications for the Healthcare Workforce, Access to Care, and Population Health

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
Health Resources and Services Administration - (Rockville, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
Texas Gulf Bend Region Rural Communities Opioid Response Planning Program for Prevention of Childhood Neglect, Trauma & Abuse

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
United States Department of Health and Human Services - (Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
Variations in Travel Burdens Associated with Access to Care Between Rural and Urban Residents

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
Health Resources and Services Administration - (Rockville, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
Rural Health Research Grant Program Cooperative Agreement

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
Health Resources and Services Administration - (Rockville, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
Maternal and Child Health Public Health Training Program

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
United States Department of Health and Human Services - (Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States)

# streetAddress
132 SPH Administration Building; MS 1266; 

# inTheNews[].label
Public Health Professor's Journey To Discovering Her 'Path'

# inTheNews[].label
Southwest Rural Health Research Center, College Of Nursing, School Of Public Health Better Rural Health

# inTheNews[].label
Emergency Dental Visits Take A Bite Out Of Everyone's Wallets