About South Carolina Tracking Program

Nov. 21, 2023

The South Carolina (SC) Tracking Program’s mission is to provide a network of integrated health and environmental data to reduce the burden of environmental health conditions on South Carolinians and their families.

Background

Nicknamed The Palmetto State, South Carolina is home to a unique climate and geography. The Blue Ridge Mountains lie in the northwestern corner of the state. The Coastal Plain gives way to freshwater marshes and barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean.

South Carolina is home to more than 5 million residents and is the 23^rd most populous state in the United States. It is the 10^th fastest growing state in the nation. The population is composed of 64.4% non-Hispanic Whites, 27% non-Hispanic Blacks, and 6.1% Hispanic/Latinos.

South Carolina consistently sees high rates of chronic health conditions. These include asthma, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Many of these conditions are made worse by various environmental factors.

The SC Tracking Program aims to offer useful and updated data and information on environmental health effects, hazards, and exposures to promote public health action, giving special attention to groups that have been marginalized.

Accomplishments

Improving Data Understanding and Accessibility

Detailed, local-level data can aid in making informed public health decisions. South Carolina's Tracking Program helped showcase important public health data by hosting a series of data presentations. During these guided presentations, data and its interpretation are presented to community and county leadership, partners, and practitioners. Events focused on sharing detailed local data about environmental factors and health issues, such as asthma and heart disease. By reviewing this information together, community leaders and health partners identified top health priorities.

From August to October 2023, data presentations with four counties led them to form workgroups targeting key areas like chronic health conditions and access to healthcare. This collaborative effort has improved data understanding and accessibility while laying the groundwork for future community health improvement plans. These informed data decisions will help address the identified needs over the coming years and improve the health of South Carolinians.

Unique Data

All state and local tracking programs collect and display a set of standard data. But individual programs may host other data that are important to their populations. SC Tracking's unique data include the following.