Mississippi is located on southern coast of the United States, with its state capitol in Jackson. Mississippi has 82 counties, and its most populous cities are Jackson, Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, and Greenville. Among the 50 states, Mississippi ranks 32nd in size, covering 48,434 square miles. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Mississippi is the 31st most populous state with 2,844,658 residents, and the Census Bureau projects that Mississippi's population will grow by 12 percent between 2000 and 2025, to 3.1 million.

From 2000 to 2003, Desoto County saw the highest population growth, increasing its population by 16 percent. Desoto is part of the Memphis, TN, metropolitan area. The county with the next highest rate of growth was Rankin county, part of the Jackson metro area, increasing by 8.1 percent. During this timeframe, one-half of the counties in Mississippi experienced negative growth.

Mississippi residents are predominantly white (61.4%), with a significant black population (36.3%). Mississippi ranks first among the 50 states in percentage of African Americans in resident population. Hispanics make up 1.4% of the state's population, Asians make up 0.7%, and Native Americans 0.4%. Mississippi has an abundance of prime workforce-age residents, with 45.7 percent of the state's population between the ages of 25 and 59.

Demographics

Mississippi State Documents Online - Demographics - A resource from the Mississippi Library Commission that provides links to U.S. Census Bureau data on county population estimates, U.S. state population projections, and Mississippi population projections.

Mississippi State and County QuickFacts - This resource from the U.S. Census Bureau provides summary profiles for frequently requested data items from various Census Bureau programs. Profiles are available at the national, state, and county level.

Mississippi Community Profiles - The Mississippi Development Authority provides demographic information ranging from population and labor force statistics to transportation and utilities. Most information is on the county level, but several comparisons are made between county and community.

Statistics

Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts Online - Mississippi at a Glance - This resource provides the latest state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation.

Mississippi Health Statistics and Records

News Information

Mississippi Media On-line - The Mississippi State University Extension Service provides links to newspapers and magazines, radio stations, and television stations.

Press Releases – News releases from the Mississippi governor's office.

Mississippi Newspapers – The U.S. Newspaper List provides links to Mississippi newspapers, radio stations, television stations, and magazines.

Health Resources
(Information about Health Services Infrastructure)

Mississippi Department of Health

State Documents Online: Health - The Mississippi Library Commission provides links to state health documents

Healthcare in Mississippi - The state Web site provides links to fast facts as well as links to information on hospitals and other health facilities, social services, disabilities, mental health, and professional licensing in Mississippi.

Mississippi Area Health Education Centers - The University of Mississippi Medical Center Department of Family Medicine provides an overview of the AHEC program, including program goals, regional coverage, and contact information.

CHEC: Mississippi Health Resources - A comprehensive listing from the Rowland Medical Library's Consumer Health Education Center. This site provides links to directories, government resources, organizations, support/personal sites, and print resources.

Library Information

Libraries

Directory of Mississippi Libraries - This site from Mississippi Library Commission provides links to academic, public, school, and special libraries.

Mississippi Library Commission - Offers a wide variety of direct and indirect services to libraries, government agencies and the citizens of Mississippi.

Regional Medical Library: University of Maryland Baltimore , Health Sciences Human Services Library

Mississippi Resource Libraries:

University of Mississippi Medical Center
Rowland Medical Library
2500 North State Street
Jackson, MS 39216-4505
Voice 601-984-1231
Fax 601-984-1262

There are many fine local libraries in the network that provide health information and other services. For help finding a participating library click here.

Associations

Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association

Mississippi Library Association - State chapter of the Americal Library Association

Library School

University of Southern Mississippi (Conditional)
School of Library and Information Science
118 College Drive #5146
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
Phone: (601) 266-4228
Fax: (601) 266-5774

Specific Populations

(General Resources, South Carolina Resources, African American, Hispanic, Asian American,, Native American)

General Resources:

Office of Minority Health - A division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services whose mission is to improve and protect the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will eliminate health disparities.

Minority Health - Sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, this resource provides links to Foundation reports as well as state-by-state statistical information.

Population Group Topics - This resource from the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINEplus provides links to topic sheets for a number of population groups.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Status - A fact sheet on health disparities from the Centers for Disease Control.

Health Professional Shortage Areas - This resource from the HRSA Bureau of Health Professions defines the health professional shortage area designation criteria and offers database searching by state and county.

Minority Health Resources - A subject guide from the Health Sciences and Human Services Library with links to general and population-specific health information resources.

Mississippi Resources

Minority Affairs
Mississippi Department of Health
570 E. Woodrow Wilson Blvd.
P.O. Box 1700
Jackson, MS 39215-1700
Tel: 601-576-7950
Fax: 601-576-7905

Jackson Heart Study - The Jackson Heart Study is a single-site prospective epidemiologic investigation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African-Americans from the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area.

Mississippi Department of Health: Office of Health Disparity - The Office of Health Disparity performs research and education on unequal access to quality health care and strives to eliminate such disparities across the state. This site provides a link to the report, "Mississippi ’s Plan to Eliminate Racial & Ethnic Health Care Disparities."

Mississippi: Minority Health - A state minority health profile from the Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts.

Mississippi Health Advocacy Program

Eliminating Health Disparities: Focus on Mississippi - A brief 2004 publication from the APHA's Public Health Week program. This resource provides a brief overview of health disparities in Mississippi along with contact information for programs addressing some of the problems.

African American

African American Health - This MEDLINEplus topic sheet provides links to a variety of health information resources for and about African Americans.

The Black Population in the United States - Detailed demographic information on the African American population from the U.S. Census Bureau.

African-American Health Resources - Links to national African-American health resources compiled by the Maryland DHMH Health Disparities Initiative.

Jackson Heart Study - The Jackson Heart Study is a single-site prospective epidemiologic investigation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African-Americans from the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area.

Hispanic

Hispanic Population in the United States - Detailed demographic information on the U.S. Hispanic population from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hispanic-American Health - This MEDLINEplus topic sheet provides links to a variety of health information resources for and about Hispanic-Americans.

National Alliance for Hispanic Health - This site includes information about the Alliance, health news, and other topics of interest. Resources on the site include Health Fact Sheets, Hispanic Health Needs Assessment, and Funding Leads.

Asian American

Asian and Pacific Islander Populations - Detailed demographic information on U.S. Asian and Pacific Islander populations from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Asian-American Health - This MEDLINEplus topic sheet provides links to a variety of health information resources for and about people of Asian and Pacific Island descent.

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum Links and Resources - This site provides links to health organizations and programs for Asian and Pacific Islanders.

Asian-American Health Resources - Links to national Asian-American health resources compiled by the Maryland DHMH Health Disparities Initiative.

Native American

Native-American Health - This MEDLINEplus topic sheet provides links to a variety of health information resources for and about people of Native American descent.

American Indian Health - From the National Library of Medicine, and information portal to issues affecting the health and well-being of American Indians.

American Indian and Alaska Native Populations - Detailed demographic information on U.S. American Indian and Alaska Native populations from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Indian Health Service - The Federal health program for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

National Indian Health Board - Advocates on behalf of all Tribal Governments and American Indians/Alaska Natives in their efforts to provide quality health care.

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians: Health Services - A resource on Choctaw government health services available to the state's resident Choctaw population.

Additional Resources

The National Library of Medicine - The following NLM products may be useful to you and are available on the web at no cost: ClinicalTrials.gov, NLM Gateway, MedlinePlus, PubMedand TOXNET.A full listing of NLM's online resources is available on their Health Information page.

FedStats provides access to statistics prepared by over 100 federal agencies. Statistics are available on a state and community level.

FirstGov provides a search engine and topical indexes for US state and federal information. To search for information on a particular state, use the form in the upper left corner.

State and Local Government on the Net provides links to government information on a state and local level for the fifty states, as well as selected US-associated areas such as Guam.

RML State Contact

Sheila Snow-Croft, Outreach Education Coordinator ssnowcro@hshsl.umaryland.edu

Ms. Snow-Croft exhibits, teaches PubMed classes, and supports subcontracts and library improvement projects in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, District of Columbia, Maryland, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Do you have further questions? Call us at 1-800-338-7657 and Choose 1 for Regional Network Office .