Health Equity through a Disability Lens—Are We Making Progress?

If “making progress” includes recognizing and beginning to understand a problem, then we are making progress. The health inequities of people who live with disabilities are only now becoming recognized as a significant public health problem. Progress in recognizing a problem is evidenced in the last decade by the development of disability objectives in HP2010 and HP2020; the inclusion of disability identifiers in several public health surveys, and now standardized questions for identifying disability status in surveys; a substantial body of research knowledge about disabilities, an exponential increase in research on effective health promotion for people with disabilities; and increasing recognition by policymakers and the public about the capabilities and health needs of people with disabilities. However, if progress is marked by improvements in health status (4 times more likely to be “fair/poor”), health behaviors (more obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle), and health care access (2 ˝ times more likely to delay needed care) for people with disabilities, then progress is questionable. If we consider the broader social determinants of health to include employment, community living, education, transportation; then progress is very mixed for people with disabilities. Public health can make significant impact by increasing its awareness and assessment of health inequities for people with disabilities, and working to achieve better health outcomes. Participants will be able to describe a) data on key indicators of health inequity for the disability population, and b) the valuable lessons learned in developing a Disability Action Plan for the Department of Health and Human Services.