Showing 1 – 2 of 2 results.
Curated
Charleston Heart Study, Charleston, South Carolina, 1960-2000 (ICPSR 4050)
Released/updated on: 2021-06-03
Geographic coverage: Charleston (South Carolina), United States, South Carolina
Time period: 1960-01-01--2000-01-01
The Charleston Heart Study (CHS) represents data collected over a 41-year period (1960-2000) in order to provide an understanding of the natural progression of aging in a community-based cohort. In 1960 the CHS began enrolling a random selection of community residents who were 35 years of age and older -- including men and women, Black and White. The primary hypothesis of the original study was to investigate racial differences in the manifestation and risk factors for coronary disease. Over the ensuing 40+ years, a variety of outcome measurements were incorporated into the re-examination of the participants, including psychosocial, behavioral, aging, and functional measures. As a longitudinal study, the CHS allows for the study of the risk factors, correlates, and consequences of aging, while simultaneously allowing for exploration of racial disparity in the manifestation of putative risk factors and outcomes. The CHS began with baseline data and added a special cohort of Black men. In subsequent years three separate follow-ups were conducted. The data include death information for respondents and background characteristics (age, race, sex, occupation, education, and marital status).
Curated
RAND Health Insurance Experiment [in Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Areas of the United States], 1974-1982 (ICPSR 6439)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: Charleston (South Carolina), Seattle, United States, Massachusetts, Ohio, Washington, South Carolina, Dayton
Time period: 1974-01-01--1982-01-01
The Health Insurance Experiment (HIE) was conducted from 1974 to 1982 in six sites across the country: Dayton, Ohio, Seattle, Washington, Fitchburg-Leominster and Franklin County, Massachusetts, and Charleston and Georgetown County, South Carolina. These sites represent four census regions (Midwest, West, Northeast, and South), as well as urban and rural areas. The HIE attempted to determine what effects alternative cost-sharing plans and a staff-model Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) had on the use of medical services and individual health outcomes. The main purpose of the experiment was to assess how the cost of health services affected individuals' use of services, their satisfaction with health care, the quality of their care, and the state of their health. To study the effects of health insurance coverage, a comprehensive method for measuring health and monitoring changes in health over time was developed. Health status was seen as having four dimensions: physical, mental, social, and physiological. Physical health focused on five categories of activities: self-care, mobility, exertion, role fulfillment, and leisure pursuits. Mental health focused on mood and anxiety disorders along with loss of control over feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Social health was assessed by the frequency of several kinds of participation, interaction, and resources, covering family and home, social life, and community involvement. Physiologic health was determined by looking at a number of physical disorders both in adults (aged 14 to 61) and children (aged 0 to 13) that would be easily traced over time and would be responsive to changes in the level and quality of medical care. For adults, acne, congestive heart failure, and sleeping pill and tranquilizer use were considered. For children, variables included allergic conditions (asthma, eczema, hay fever), anemia, middle ear disease, hearing impairment, and vision impairment. Also included were general health measures based on single questions about health-related pain and worry, and a rating of health (excellent, good, fair, poor). Health habits described aspects of smoking, consumption of alcohol, weight, height, and exercise.