TBI Data Collection

South Carolina Profile
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Data Collection Information

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Surveillance
South Carolina is one of 12 states receiving CDC funding for ongoing, systematic collection and analysis of TBI data as part of the Traumatic Brain Injury Surveillance Program. Through this program, each participating state characterizes TBI risk factors, incidence, external causes, severity, and short-term outcomes via population-based surveillance of TBI-related hospitalizations and deaths.

Lead agency: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
Phone: 803-898-3432
Website: www.scdhec.net 

State Injury Indicators Data
South Carolina is one of 26 states participating in the Injury Indicators program coordinated by CDC, with input from CSTE and STIPDA. Participating states voluntarily analyze hospitalization and death data to track, monitor, and report on various injuries and risk factors, including TBI. Note that this program uses a restricted definition of TBI. 

Lead agency: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
Phone: 803-898-3432
Website: www.scdhec.net 

Report: State Injury Indicators Report  

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Registry
South Carolina has a population-based TBI registry. 

Lead agency: Medical University of South Carolina
Phone: 843-792-2300
Website: www.musc.edu  

Additional State Contact
South Carolina Office of Research and Statistics 
Pete Bailey
Phone: 803-898-9940
E-mail: pbailey@drss.state.sc.us 
Website: www.ors2.state.sc.us 

 
Program Spotlight  

South Carolina TBI Follow-Up Registry: Studying what happens after traumatic brain injury (TBI)
South Carolina’s TBI Follow-Up Registry Project may be regarded as a study, rather than as a system in which every person with TBI in the state is registered. The purpose of this follow-up study is to document the long-term outcomes, risk factors, and service needs of a population-based, representative sample of South Carolinians who have experienced TBIs of varying severity.

This follow-up registry project is an extension of South Carolina’s TBI surveillance activities. The surveillance system identifies all people in SC who are hospitalized with a TBI. For the follow-up study, a random sample of people who are alive at discharge from the hospital is interviewed via telephone at one, two, and three years after discharge. 

The information collected includes the following:

• Characteristics, such as age and sex
• Pre-injury health information
• Cause of the TBI 
• Symptoms, such as headaches
• Functional limitations, such as difficulty performing routine 
  activities
• Secondary conditions, such as problems with depression, alcohol 
  use, and unemployment.

The study also includes an effort to link participants to services. All study participants are informed during the interviews about a toll-free information hotline. After the interviews, they are mailed thank you letters with additional information about services. The names of those with more severe TBI are referred to the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, whose case managers contact those individuals to assess needs and determine service eligibility. Efforts are currently underway to further develop ways to more directly link registry participants with needed services.

A key feature of this project is its collaborations and partnerships between the Medical University of South Carolina, the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the South Carolina Leadership Council. 


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