Fiscal Constraints and Access to Reproductive Health Services in South Carolina: The Impact of Clinic Retraction on Utilization, Outcomes, and Quality

Back to Grantee Profiles

Overview                 

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of changes in the scale of operations and scope of public health activities for reproductive health services on utilization, outcomes, and quality among South Carolina women enrolled in Medicaid. A retrospective cohort of women receiving family planning services from 2001-2012 will be developed using Medicaid eligibility/billing files. Longitudinal research methods will be used to examine the impact of these changes on selected outcomes over time. This will be a joint project between the University of South Carolina Center for Health Services and Policy Research (CHSPR) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). Study findings, research questions, and methodologies are relevant for any personal health service currently provided by public health agencies subject to similar changes under fiscal constraints.

Presentations

• Local Public Health Clinic Retraction and Reproductive Health Services Utilization and Outcomes (PHSSR Research in Progress Webinar, January 2015, recording)

Publications

• Changes in the Clinical Capacity of Local Health Departments and Continuity of Reproductive Health Services (JPHMP, 2016)

Tools

• Closed: What happens to health when the local health department isn’t providing clinical services? (Research Brief, August 2014)

Research Areas

• Financing and Economics
• Fiscal Analysis

Contact

Nathan Hale
East Tennessee State University College of Public Health
halenl@etsu.edu