PI: Melissa Vilaro
Institution: University of Florida 
Department: Extension in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Time affiliated with project: 5 months 
Research focus: The research consisted of three pilot studies via Health Extension, driving data collection, analysis, and research material creation, including surveys, flyers, and posters, with a focus on developing integrated Extension programs aimed at enhancing community health. The rural telehealth pilot study, conducted across multiple Extension offices in Florida aimed to bridge healthcare access gaps in rural areas and identified high satisfaction levels among telehealth users in Extension County offices, indicative of high-quality, patient- centered care, potentially enhancing healthcare access for rural adults with type 2 diabetes.
Project Responsibilities: The project responsibilities consisted of attending  small team meetings, completing an annotated bibliography summarizing existing literature related to rural telehealth, build qualtrics surveys and assist with ongoing data management for pilot studies., conduct individual interviews with rural telehealth stakeholders, and assist with data collection/data analysis of pilot data from any of the three pilot studies. ​