AP/Charleston Post and Courier Looks at Racial Health Disparities in South Carolina

The AP/Charleston Post and Courier examines racial disparities in health in South Carolina, a "relatively small, poor, rural state." According to the AP/Post and Courier, blacks account for one-third of the state's population but make up more than two-thirds of the state's AIDS cases. In 2000, blacks accounted for 71% of reported HIV infections, while whites accounted for 27%. In addition, blacks have shorter life expectancies, higher infant mortality rates and a higher risk of developing cancer than whites. South Carolina has the nation's highest stroke death rate, and blacks are 50% more likely than whites to die of strokes. In South Carolina, Hispanics and American Indians also have higher rates of cancer, AIDS and diabetes than whites. For example, 13% of Catawba Indians ages 20 and older have diabetes, three times as many as for whites and twice as many as for blacks. The disparities can be attributed to poverty and education, the AP/Post and Courier reports. Nearly 15% of South Carolina's population lives in poverty. Dr. Raymond Greenberg, president of the Medical University of South Carolina, said, "There's a huge economic disparity between the African-American population and the majority population." Greenberg added that the poor "generally have less education, which, in turn, affects their ability to get insurance, medical care and medicine." In 1996, 21% of the state's blacks did not receive medical care because of cost reasons, compared with 10% of whites (Geier, AP/Charleston Post and Courier, 9/24).