​The relationship between Social Vulnerability Index and diagnosis of a chronic health condition in South Carolina

This study investigated and examined the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) on the diagnosis of a chronic health condition in counties in South Carolina. SDOH were represented by the Center for Disease and Control’s (CDC) publicly available Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) database. The CDC’s SVI, is an index based on location, information and diagrammatic description that recognizes and calculates those areas that are encountering stressors from natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and other community challenges due to poverty, lack of access to resources and other factors such as age, income, and gender. The percentage of individuals diagnosed with diabetes was generated from the South Carolina Department of Environmental Control (SCDHEC)’s publicly available database. Specifically, the study examined if a relationship existed between the percentage of individuals diagnosed with diabetes in a region of South Carolina and the SVI of that region. Minority populations are socially vulnerable to environmental events as they often do not have the means to successfully recover from natural disasters and other unforeseen events. In addition, affordability for health care services, health literacy, specialized care, health gaps, and health inequalities are also significant issues for this population, which were also discussed throughout this research study. Why are these systemic, structural, barriers in place such that this population is adversely affected by poor health outcomes, health gaps, and long-term results? There are various chronic health conditions reported in this state including diabetics, heart disease, cancer, and kidney disease. For this research study, the focus was on diabetes diagnosis. Statistical data on individuals with diabetes in South Carolina will be analyzed and reviewed based on SDOH from each county using the CDC website. The findings will provide further evidence of the social vulnerability of this population across the state.