2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

327706
Identifying Health Behavior Status and Disparities among Youth with Disabilities in Ohio


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Yiping Yang, MPH, CHES, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Courtney Frantz, B.S., The Ohio State University Nisonger Center, Columbus, OH
Ngoc-Quynh Wells, PhD, The Ohio State University Nisonger Center, Columbus, OH
Emily Yang, DTR, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Timothy Sahr, MPH, MA, ThM, MDiv, Government Resource Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Susan Havercamp, PhD, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
The Ohio Disability and Health Program (ODHP), funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), added two disability identifier questions to CDC’s 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) implemented in Ohio. Including these disability questions allowed ODHP to analyze the health risk among youth with disabilities in Ohio. Compared to youth without disabilities, youth with disabilities reported higher rates of various health risks including abusing prescription pain medication, being bullied, attempting to self-injure, and having been sexually abused. Youth with disabilities also conferred poorer health status.

Challenges encountered in this study included understanding the nature of disability represented in the group of students who endorsed our disability screener questions.  A related issue became understanding what students were not included in the disability sample because they did not complete the YRBS.  Although the YRBS does not systematically exclude students receiving special education services, whether or not they are included in the sample depends largely on class schedules and teacher judgment and willingness/ability to provide needed accommodations.  These issues must be carefully considered to accurately interpret this new data.

These findings will help guide public health initiatives in Ohio schools and communities. Including disability identifiers on the YRBS sheds light on critical disparities and health issues impacting youth with disabilities. With this information, the Ohio Disability and Health Program can more effectively partner with key organizations, agencies, institutions, and other stakeholders to strategically address these health and social issues through policy, research, education, and programming.

Learning Areas:

Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Identify major health disparities among youth with disabilities compared to youth without disabilities in Ohio. Describe health status and health risk behaviors among youth with disabilities in Ohio. Discuss challenges and implications of gathering and utilizing health risk data for Ohio’s youth with disabilities.

Keyword(s): Disabilities, Youth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I serve as the program coordinator for the Ohio Disability and Health Program and played a lead role in coordinating the YRBS disability data initiative. I worked closely with partners on each phase of the project including the analysis of the data, development of end products, dissemination strategies, and resolving challenges.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2026.0: Poster #3 - Emerging Issues in Disability and Public Health