2018/08/16 by Catherine A. Okoro, NaTasha D. Hollis, Alissa C. Cyrus +1 · 825 citations
Social Sciences · Medicine · Nursing · #Health disparities and outcomes #Emergency and Acute Care Studies #Elder Abuse and Neglect #Medicine #Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System #Gerontology #Health care #Poverty #Young adult #National Health Interview Survey #Public health #Population #Environmental health #Nursing
paper · pdf · doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6732a3
published in MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 67(32), 882-887 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
openalex publication_date 2018/08/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Persons with disabilities face greater barriers to health care than do those without disabilities (1). To identify characteristics of noninstitutionalized adults with six specific disability types (hearing, vision, cognition, mobility, self-care, and independent living),* and to assess disability-specific disparities in health care access, CDC analyzed 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. The prevalences of disability overall and by disability type, and access to health care by disability type, were estimated. Analyses were stratified by three age groups: 18-44 years (young adults), 45-64 years (middle-aged adults), and ≥65 years (older adults). Among young adults, cognitive disability (10.6%) was the most prevalent type. Mobility disability was most prevalent among middle-aged (18.1%) and older adults (26.9%). Generally, disability prevalences were higher among women, American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN), adults with income below the federal poverty level (FPL), and persons in the South U.S. Census region. Disability-specific disparities in health care access were prevalent, particularly among young and middle-aged adults. These data might inform public health programs of the sociodemographic characteristics and disparities in health care access associated with age and specific disability types and guide efforts to improve access to care for persons with disabilities.