The primary goal of my research has been to
look at alcohol laws of multiple states as well as counties to see how they
vary. Dry states have more stringent alcohol policy than wet states, thus greatly
affecting the overall health of that population. As the number of on premise
alcohol outlet increases, so does the number of people acquiring STDs, teen
pregnancy, fetal alcohol syndrome, road injuries and many more. Thus the health
outcome has an enormous impact on that state’s as well as the nation’s
healthcare policies and budget. My mentor, associate professor of the Global
and Community Health department Dr. Matthew Rossheim, has published research
article based on the findings of Texas’ alcohol policy and health outcome data
which we are using as a prototype for other states. A lot of the time my
project requires me to clean up the data we found on states’ ABC websites so
that the data is more effective and relatable to our research. Before doing
anything else, however, I have to choose a state and look for the times local
option elections took place where a dry county voted to become wet and vice
versa. Annual ABC reports regarding alcohol sale, licensing, and election
results are great resources that I have to look for from time to time. ABC
boards with insufficient funding have less resources available to the public,
making our research more challenging. I have weekly meetings with my mentor
where we go over newly acquired findings and the possibilities they present. As
a junior who’s majoring in biology and want to be a Physician Assistant, this
opportunity has provided me a great deal of insight into community health,
making me more knowledgeable and responsible. The practicality of these
research findings are making me more conscious and aware of United States’
health policy. Our goal is to compile and present irrefutable data to federal
government in a hope that policymakers will use these data in order to improve
the lives of people.
