Medical Family Case Studies in the Delta Health Center Records

The Delta Health Center was located in rural Mound Bayou, Bolivar County, Miss., and served Bolivar, Coahoma, Sunflower, and Washington counties, where poverty remains widespread. The Center, which began as an affiliate of Tufts University and then became connected with the State University of New York at Stony Brook, merged with the Mound Bayou Community Hospital in the 1970s. Records include correspondence, subject files, and case studies.

In 1968 medical students from northeastern universities conducted health and living assessments of low income, African American families living in the Mississippi Delta. The students compiled family case studies that are now contained in the Delta Health Center collection.

The family case studies include identifying information—names, birth dates, locations—that can be redacted prior to use in the search room or digitization. However, rich narrative elements of these studies reveal intimate details of individuals' mental and physical health, diet, living conditions, private lives, familial relationships, and criminal activity. Given the recent creation date of the records, it is possible for someone from these small communities to identify the families described in the narratives.

These family case studies have high research value both for scholars and for public health professionals.

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