Health grant good news for our region

Think of how many times people start their arguments with "studies have shown." Then consider that, for those of us in rural areas, it's harder to know because there are just fewer studies.

A public policy center set to open at Humboldt State University may rectify this somewhat. The California Center for Rural Policy will be located at HSU but advised by experts from the public, private and nonprofit sectors in Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino and Trinity counties. In essence, it aims to bring together these diverse groups to study rural policy issues more comprehensively.

The center just received a $551,000 grant from the California Endowment. It's now in the start-up phase, creating an advisory board, so it will be some time before we see completed studies. But the news of its creation will mean a great deal for area residents - and possibly for rural people throughout the state.

The center will start researching health issues, but may later expand to other public policy topics. Such research is needed. Rural residents face different health difficulties than urban people: obesity, drug and alcohol problems, childhood anemia and dental disease are among the topics that may be studied. Geography and economics play a role in health issues, since people who live in isolated communities are less likely to have good access to health care.

But who usually conducts big studies? It's larger universities, located in metropolitan areas. Having such research here at HSU will better allow rural residents to figure out what issues are most worthy of study in their communities, and try to find real solutions for their problems rather than remaining dependent on city dwellers.

As Humboldt Area Foundation Executive Director Peter Pennekamp pointed out, statistics are often calculated at a rate per 100,000 residents - a meaningless figure around here. Figuring out how to calculate numbers that are relevant to rural communities, rather than comparing apples to oranges, will better help us identify what's going on in our communities.

Finally, the center will be the first of its kind in California. This may put our region on the map for the state - possibly for the nation. We look forward to seeing what comes out of it.