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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Carol J. Gill, PhD, Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, M/C 626, 1640 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608, 312-355-0550, cg16@uic.edu, JoAnn Thierry, MS, MSW, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE (F-35), Atlanta, GA 30341, Margaret A. Nosek, PhD, Center for Research on Women with Disabilities, Baylor College of Medicine, 3440 Richmond Ave., Suite B, Houston, TX 77025, and Frances M. Chevarley, PhD, Center for Cost and Financing Studies, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2101 East Jefferson St. Suite 500, Rockville, MD 20852.
Maintaining good health for women with disabilities requires not only engaging in health promoting behaviors, but also understanding and minimizing the effects of disability and the secondary conditions that often accompany it. Data from the National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplement were used to examine differences between women with Functional Limitations (Fls) and women without Fls on a number of health indicators including: self reported health status, hypertension, smoking, body mass index, and mental health problems. Results suggested an inverse relationship between self-reported health status and the number of Functional Limitations (Fls); women with Fls were less likely than those without Fls to rate their health as excellent or very good, and more likely to report their health as fair or poor. Compared with women without Fls, women with Fls were more likely to have been told by a doctor or health professional two or more times that they had hypertension. Women with Fls were also significantly more likely than women without Fls to be current smokers and be substantially overweight. A positive association was found between the number of Fls and several mental health problems including: frequent depression or anxiety, the experience of major depression in the preceding 12 months, and difficulty with day to day stress. Implications for public health research and practice (e.g., individual biology and behavior, the physical and social environments, policies and interventions, and access to quality health care) will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.