South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

About: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is a government organization based out in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 334 authors who have published 315 publications receiving 11187 citations.

Facility Attractiveness and Social Vulnerability Impacts on Spatial Accessibility to Opioid Treatment Programs in South Carolina.

Abstract: Opioid dependence and opioid-related mortality have been increasing in recent years in the United States. Available and accessible treatments may result in a reduction of opioid-related mortality. This work describes the geographic variation of spatial accessibility to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and identifies areas with poor access to care in South Carolina. The study develops a new index of access that builds on the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method, and has three dimensions: a facility attractiveness index, defined by services rendered incorporated into the Huff Model; a facility catchment area, defined as a function of facility attractiveness to account for variable catchment size; and a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to account for nonspatial factors that mitigate or compound the impacts of spatial access to care. Results of the study indicate a significant variation in access to OTPs statewide. Spatial access to OTPs is low across the entire state except for in a limited number of metropolitan areas. The majority of the population with low access (85%) live in areas with a moderate-to-high levels of social vulnerability. This research provides more realistic estimates of access to care and aims to assist policymakers in better targeting disadvantaged areas for OTP program expansion and resource allocation.

Heavy metals in oyster tissue around three coastal marinas.

Abstract: The past decade has presented an unprecedented period of growth and development along the coastline of South Carolina. The majority of this development has been to serve the recreation and tourism industry and, as such, has included the construction of numerous recreational marinas in the coastal waters of the State. Various plans have been presented for the siting of marinas in pristine estuarine waters. This has raised much concern due to the possible impacts of such development on the plentiful oyster resource found in those waters. Marinas present the potential for the introduction of pollutants such as heavy metals into the surrounding waters. This investigation was conducted by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) during 1983, and yielded a multifaceted data base composed of physiocochemical and bacteriological analyses from water, chemical analyses from sediment and chemical/bacteriological physiological analyses from the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin). C. virginica was chosen as the organism of interest due to its wide distribution in the estuaries of South Carolina, its importance as an economic and recreational resource and its suitability as a sentinel organism for monitoring coastal pollution.

Bootstrap methods for simultaneous benchmark analysis with quantal response data.

Abstract: A primary objective in quantitative risk assessment is the characterization of risk which is defined to be the likelihood of an adverse effect caused by an environmental toxin or chemcial agent In modern risk-benchmark analysis, attention centers on the “benchmark dose” at which a fixed benchmark level of risk is achieved, with a lower confidence limits on this dose being of primary interest In practice, a range of benchmark risks may be under study, so that the individual lower confidence limits on benchmark dose must be corrected for simultaneity in order to maintain a specified overall level of confidence For the case of quantal data, simultaneous methods have been constructed that appeal to the large sample normality of parameter estimates The suitability of these methods for use with small sample sizes will be considered A new bootstrap technique is proposed as an alternative to the large sample methodology This technique is evaluated via a simulation study and examples from environmental toxicology

Impacts of urban drainage systems on stormwater hydrology: Rocky Branch Watershed, Columbia, South Carolina

Abstract: McCormick Taylor, Inc., Grant/Award Number: 13540‐16‐41674; Office of the Vice President for Research, University of South Carolina, Grant/Award Number: 13540‐16‐41303

Racial Differences in Trends and Predictors of Infant Sleep Positioning in South Carolina, 1996–2007

Abstract: This paper examines racial differences in trends and predictors of prone and lateral infant sleep positioning among South Carolina mothers and infants. Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data were used to analyze linear trends in prone, lateral, and supine infant sleep positioning among 14,648 mother-infant pairs from 1996 to 2007. Logistic regression models were used to examine the predictors of prone and lateral positioning among 9,015 mother-infant pairs from 2000 to 2007. From 1996 to 2007, white infants experienced a reduction in both prone and lateral positioning and an increase in supine positioning (28.2–66.7%), while black infants had smaller decreases in prone and lateral positioning and a smaller increase in supine positioning (22.6–47.1%) than white infants. Compared to births in 2000–2005, births after the explicit recommendation that infants not be placed in the lateral sleep position (2006–2007) were associated with decreased odds of lateral positioning among white infants (odds ratio [OR]: 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.51, 0.87) but not among black infants. The significant predictors of white infants being placed in the prone position were different from the predictors for black infants. Additionally, with regard to lateral sleep positioning, more significant predictors were observed among white infants than black infants. These findings suggest that efforts are warranted to increase the prevalence of supine sleep positioning, especially among black infants. Race-specific programs may efficiently reduce non-supine sleep positioning to help narrow racial gaps in sudden infant death syndrome.