Disability and Health Data System – Disability Data at Your Fingertips

BACKGROUND: Adults with disabilities are known to experience significant health disparities. To improve the health of this population, state public health professionals need access to accurate and timely data to inform their state’s health promotion activities. Online data tools, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Disability and Health Data System (DHDS), provide quick and easy access to data on demographics and health information for adults with disabilities. In this session, participants will learn 1) how to navigate DHDS to find state specific data on important health topics such as health care coverage, obesity, and fair/poor health status, and 2) how to quickly identify differences in health between adults with and without disabilities.

METHODS: DHDS presents state level health data analyzed from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. DHDS was recently updated with 2013 estimates, and for the first time it provides information on five select disability types: cognitive, vision, mobility, self-care, and independent living. Among adults 18 years of age or older, age-adjusted prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated among adults with and without disabilities for 30 health indicators.

RESULTS: In 2013, state-level prevalence estimates of any disability ranged from a low of 16.4% in Minnesota to a high of 31.5% in Alabama. The prevalence of any disability for the U.S. and territories overall was 22.4%, and the five disability types were 10.7% (cognitive), 13.1% (mobility), 4.8% (vision), 3.6% (self-care), and 6.6% (independent living). Examples of key health disparities between adults with and without disabilities are: health care coverage (77.0% vs 83.1%), obesity (39.1% vs 24.7%), and fair/poor health status (44.5% vs 9.1%).

CONCLUSIONS: Adults with disabilities are an important subpopulation to consider when characterizing the health needs of a state’s population. State-level data available in DHDS can be viewed on interactive maps, data tables, and state profiles, making it easy to identify the health disparities experienced by adults with disabilities. State public health professionals can use this information to identify health needs and inform programmatic decisions to improve the health of adults with disabilities.