The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #62232

Anita L. Stewart, PhD, Taewoon Kang, PhD, Joseph T. Mullan, PhD, H. Stephen Kaye, PhD, and Mitchell P. LaPlante, PhD. Disability Statistics Center, Institute for Health & Aging, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Room 340, San Francisco, CA 94118, 415-502-5207, anitast@itsa.ucsf.edu

Large gaps in social participation have been observed between persons with and without disabilities, and they have not lessened since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Are these gaps due entirely to disability-related factors, such as impairment and/or environmental barriers, or can they be partly or fully explained by factors unrelated to disability status? Using data from the National Health Interview Survey on Disability, we describe participation gaps between those with severe and minor disability levels. Participation indicators include "generic" participation (e.g., leaving the house), social contact, participation in specific types of activities, role participation, and satisfaction with social activity. We explore factors that might explain the gaps, focusing on demographics, living arrangements, income, and self-rated health. Gaps were apparent in nearly all participation indicators, and our variables explained only a portion of the gap for most indicators. For example, of the least severely disabled, 84% left the house every day, but only 42% of the most severely disabled did so. This gap of 41% (p<.01) was reduced to 27% after all variables were included in the model, and was still significant (p<.01). Dissatisfaction with amount of social activity was reported by 38% of the most severely disabled and 25% of the least severe group; the 13% gap remained unaffected. The effect of environmental factors on the participation of wheelchair users is also explored; again, only a fraction of the gap can be accounted for. Environmental and other factors need to be explored to more fully explain the gaps.

Learning Objectives:

• Articulate the type and magnitude of gaps in social participation between persons with and without disability; Recognize the extent to which sociodemographic, economic, living arrangement, and health factors explain the observed gaps in participation

Keywords: Outcomes Research, Disability Studies

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.