Does Type of Disability Matter to Public Health Policy and Practice?

Abstract

Background: Surveillance has been insufficient to inform and evaluate public health practices for people with disabilities. No studies have investigated whether there is statistical justification for subdividing the large, heterogeneous group of people with disabilities into subpopulations, for surveillance. Methods: Pooled data from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (2004-2010, unweighted n=132,198) included the following disability types: physical, cognitive, visual, hearing loss, and multiple disabilities. We examined differences among the disability subgroups and the no disability group on receipt of flu shot, dental exam, and timely care; insurance status; usual source of care (USOC); mental and physical health; and multiple chronic conditions (MCC). Results: The disability subgroups were sociodemographically heterogeneous and differed from each other and the no disability group on health status (mental, physical, and MCC) and healthcare outcomes (flu shot, dental exam, timely receipt of care, USOC, insurance status). Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that disability subgroups differ in the magnitude of the disparities they experience compared to each other and to people without disabilities. Disability subgroups should be examined separately for public health measures to enable effective tailoring of public health policies and programs to better meet the needs for all people.

Ability Profiles: A Framework for Conceptualizing Dimensions of Ability

“…15) [2]. We searched literature from a myriad of disciplines, including disability studies [7], education [8], medicine [9], social science [10], psychology [11], technology [12], and governmental organizations [13] with both domestic [14] and international [15] origins to ensure inclusion of a variety of conceptualizations of (dis)ability in the model. Existing frameworks for categorizing (dis)ability have focused on the specifics of the population in the study [8], defined categories based on specific diagnoses [16] or made definitions as a means of determining who gets access and services [13].…”

Unmet needs across Europe: Disclosing knowledge beyond the ordinary measure

“…Most works in Europe focus on a single country (such as the recent analyses referring to Ireland [18] and Turkey [30]). Others even focus on specific subgroups of the population, such as children with special needs [31], disabled people [32] or HIV-infected patients [33], to quote just a few among the most recent works. Only a small number of studies that cover a large group of European countries have been carried out and their objectives have been to identify the main factors associated with unmet needs [4,[6][7][8][9][10]29,34,35].…”

Using Ecological Models of Health Behavior to Promote Health Care Access and Physical Activity Engagement for Persons With Disabilities

“…With such a high cost, the nation’s health is expected to be among the best in the world; however, health care–induced spending, when combined with ongoing systemic challenges in the industry, is not improving the overall life expectancy of the US population ( 1 ). Further, the US health care system is not adequately coordinating care for patients with complex conditions, including people with disabilities (PWD), which may contribute to health disparities within this population ( 2 ). People with disabilities receive fewer treatment services than persons without disabilities, including preventative care such as screenings, vaccinations, and promotion of physical activity (PA) from health care professionals (HCPs) ( 3 ).…”

“…The EMHB is used by public health professionals to address behavior change for communities they serve; however, health behavior interventions can be a low-cost initiative that HCPs can implement into their practice ( 5 ). The purposes of this article are ( 1 ) to explore the empirical experience of PWD within health care and PA arenas and ( 2 ) to provide future care implementation strategies for HCPs as informed by the EMHB.…”