Abstract
Treating childhood asthma symptoms through an emergency department (ED) visit is a major burden for both patients and healthcare systems. One opportunity that could improve understanding of risk and ultimately lead to improved public health strategies to reduce ED visits is a better understanding of socio-environmental determinants of disease. The objective of this research is to explore the spatial distribution of pediatric asthma ED visits across South Carolina in order to better understand geographic patterns of socio-environmental risks and disparities, and to support hypothesis generation for future epidemiologic study. To achieve, we map overall ED visit rates, the white/non-white ED visit rate ratio, and socio-environmental factors including median family income and point pollution sources by ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA) in South Carolina for the period 2005-2015. Results show that elevated ED visit rates exist in rural areas, that low income areas generally coincide with high rate areas, and that there are relatively large statewide disparities between non-white and white residents. In summary, our results reveal striking disparities in the burden of asthma across South Carolina warranting further study.
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