Public health initiatives are the result of strategies developed to address current health issues facing a population that are posing a significant concern to the public. This concern is primarily driven by the economics of health care. The objective of this study is to provide a contemporary...

We introduce a modeling framework called Transaction Cost Economics to help decision makers in rural health care markets choose among alternative organizational relationships in order to more cost-effectively deliver healthcare services. In particular, the hospital-physician relationship is...

This study examines the causal relationship between dietary knowledge and behavior by including self-efficacy in the models. Regression analyses supported the hypothesized relationships that self-efficacy mediates effects of dietary knowledge and social influences on dietary behavior....

This paper examines regional differences in obesity rates, Body Mass Index (BMI) and dietary quality, using data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), Mobile Examination Center (MEC). For women, BMI and obesity prevalence may be higher in the Deep South...

As health information technology becomes more prevalent for most healthcare facilities, hospitals across the nation are choosing between performing this service in-house and outsourcing to a technology firm in the health industry. This paper examines factors affecting the information technology...

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/03/09.

This paper is Selected for presentation at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, January 31-February 3, 2009. The research is partially funded by ERS/USDA China Project and Social Science Fund of Jiangsu Province in China. The authors are grateful for...