Health Disparities

In the two-year period prior to June 1, 2003, USC was awarded about 130 externally funded grants addressing health disparities. Funding sources included the NIH, Center for Disease Control, various foundations, and pharmaceutical companies. USC’s five health science units along with the Colleges of Science and Mathematics and Liberal Arts and the Institute for Families in Society provided nearly 70 faculty as principal investigators. About 10 percent of ongoing research projects are focused on rural health issues.

South Carolina provides an excellent laboratory for research in health disparities because of its unique population characteristics. These include a high proportion of African Americans population) and individuals living in rural communities. Compared to other states, health disparities are well documented in South Carolina, and these include high risk for diabetes, stroke, and cervical and prostate cancer among other chronic conditions.

The state also has a unique research resource—extensive statewide health-related data that is available from individually linked statewide databases through collaboration with the state Budget and Control Board’s Office of Research Statistics. Databases include statewide hospital discharge data, emergency room data, Medicaid, mental health services, Department of Justice, disabilities and special needs, and the Department of Social Services. These resources can be used to generate new research questions and provide preliminary data for grant research questions.