Mekhala Dissanayake
Research Analyst
Mekhala is a PhD student in Epidemiology training in both social and reproductive epidemiology. Prior to starting her doctoral work, Mekhala was a research associate in a department of Ob/Gyn working on broad array of research related to perinatal health. Her research focuses on advancing reproductive health equity by identifying opportunities within health systems to alleviate racial and ethnic disparities.
Mekhala assists with data management and analysis on a variety of Carolina Demography projects, including the Orange County Equity project. Her work with Carolina Demography has helped her understand the challenges and opportunities that North Carolinians face and allows her to build relationships with community partners.
Since 2010, there have been 149 closures of rural hospitals across the US. These closures have taken place in 34 of the 50 states. Eight of these closures took place in North Carolina. What is a rural hospital? The NC…
Last week, the U.S (United States). Census Bureau released 2023 county population estimates. These annual estimates tell us how county populations in North Carolina have changed over the course of a year: in this case, between July 1, 2022 and…
Deciding which educational pathway to pursue is often a daunting decision for a high schooler transitioning to postsecondary education. There are many questions a student must ask. Do I want to pursue a credential or a degree awarding program? What…
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