Objectives
This study presents national estimates on the health, preventive health care, and
health care access of adult women with disabilities. We compared women with 1 or 2
functional limitations (FLs) and ≥3 FLs with women with no FLs. Topics covered included
demographic characteristics, selected reported health measures, selected clinical
preventive services, and selected access to care indicators and health care coverage.
Methods
Estimates in this report were based on data from the 1994–1995 National Health Interview
Survey, Supplement on Disability (NHIS-D). The sample size for women ≥18 years of
age used in producing the estimates from the combined 1994 and 1995 NHIS-D was 77,762.
Results
An estimated 16% of women ≥18 years of age had difficulty with at least 1 FL. Women
with FLs were less likely to rate their health as excellent or very good and more
likely to report their health as fair or poor when compared with women with no FLs.
Women with FLs were also more likely to report being a current smoker, having hypertension,
being overweight, and experiencing mental health problems. Among women ≥65 years of
age, those with FLs were also less likely to have received Pap smear tests within
the past year and those with ≥3 FLs were less likely to have received mammograms within
the past year than women with no FLs. Women with ≥3 FLs were more likely to report
being unable to get general medical care, dental care, prescription medicines, or
eyeglasses, regardless of age group, compared with women with no FLs. The main reasons
reported for being unable to receive general care were financial problems or limitations
in insurance. These findings suggest that increased attention to the health care needs
of women with disabilities from researchers, clinicians, and public health professionals
is warranted.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Women's Health IssuesAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Current estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 1994.Vital Health Statistics. 1995; 10: 193
- Disabled women in the social structure.in: Browne S.E. Conners D. Stern N. With the power of each breath. Cleis Press, Pittsburgh1985: 69-76
- Causes, risks, and consequences of disability among women.in: Krotoski D.M. Nosek M.A. Turk M.A. Women with physical disabilities: Achieving health and well-being. Paul H Brooks, Baltimore1996: 35-55
- Loss of health insurance and the risk for a decline in self-reported health and physical functioning.Medical Care. 2002; 40: 1126-1131
- Current estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 1995.Vital Health Statistics. 1998; 10: 199
- Disabled women in America. President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, Washington, D.C1984
- Use of cervical and breast cancer screening among women with and without functional limitations—United States, 1994–1995.Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 1998; (1998 47): 853-856
- Prevalence of selected chronic conditions, United States, 1986–1988: National Center for Health Statistics.Vital Health Statistics. 1993; 10: 1-5
- Population projections of the U.S. by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin: 1995 to 2050, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports. US Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C1996 ([no. P25-1130]. Available: www.census.gov/prod/1/pop/p25-1130/. Accessed October 31, 2006.)
- Women and disability: The double handicap. Transaction Books, New Brunswick, NJ1985
- Primary care for persons with disabilities: An overview of the problem.American Journal of Physical and Medical Rehabilitation. 1997; 76: S2-S8
- America’s neglected health minority: Working-age persons with disabilities.Milbank Quarterly. 1989; 67: 311-351
- Disabled women: Sexism without the pedestal.in: Deegan M.J. Brooks N.A. Women and disability: The double handicap. Transaction, Inc, New Brunswick, NJ1985: 6-22
- Women with disabilities: Essays in psychology, culture, and politics. Temple University Press, Philadelphia1998
Finison, K. S., Wellins, C. A., Wennberg, D. E., & Lucas, F. L. (1999, May/June). Screening mammography rates by specialty of the usual care physician. Effective clinical practice. Available: www.acponline.org/journals/ecp/mayjun99/finison.htm. Accessed October 31, 2006.
- The last sisters: Disabled women’s health.in: Ruzek S.B. Olesen V. Clarke A. Women’s health: Complexities and differences. Ohio State University Press, Columbus1997
- The impact of disability in older women.Journal of the American Medical Womens Association. 1997; 52: 113-120
- Persons with chronic conditions: Their prevalence and costs.Journal of the American Medical Association. 1996; 276: 1473-1479
- Use of screening and preventive services among with disabilities.American Journal of Medical Quality. 2001; 16: 135-144
- Mobility impairments and use of screening and preventive services.American Journal of Public Health. 2000; 90: 955-961
- Chartbook on women and disability in the United States: An Info Use Report. US Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Washington, D.C1999
- Disability, income support, and social insurance.in: Berkowitz E.D. Disability policies and government programs. Praeger, New York1979: 87-132
- Depression after spinal cord injury: Relation to gender, ethnicity, aging, and socioeconomic indicators.Archives of Physical and Medical Rehabilitation. 2000; 81: 1099-1109
- Benefits for the disabled: How beneficial for women?.Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. 1981; 8: 298-319
- Data on disability from the National Health Interview Survey, 1983–1985. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, US Department of Education, Washington, D.C1988
- Disability risks of chronic illnesses and impairments: Disability statistics report: Report 2. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, US Department of Education, Washington, D.C1991
- Americans with Disabilities: 1991–92, Current Population Reports. Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C1993 ([no. P70-33].)
- Americans with disabilities: 1994–95, Current Population Reports. Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C1997 ([series P70-61].)
- Disabled women and public policies for income support.in: Fine M. Asch A. Women with disabilities: Essays in psychology, culture, and politics. Temple University Press, Philadelphia1988
- Disability and rehabilitation: Legal clinical and self-concepts and measurement. Ohio State University Press, Columbus1969
- Anthropometric reference data and prevalence of overweight, United States, 1976–80. US Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C1987 ([series 11, No. 238. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 87-1688])
- Explaining the gender difference in depressive symptoms.Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. 1999; 77: 1061-1072
- Overcoming the odds: The health of women with physical disabilities in the United States.Archives of Physical and Medical Rehabilitation. 2000; 81: 135-138
- Breast and cervical cancer screening among women with physical disabilities.Archives of Physical and Medical Rehabilitation. 1997; 78: S39-S44
- National study of women with physical disabilities: Final report.Sexuality and Disability. 2001; 19: 5-39
- Secondary conditions in a community-based sample of women with physical disabilities over a 1-year period.Archives of Physical and Medical Rehabilitation. 2006; 87: 320-327
- Health care access problems of medically indigent emergency department walk-in patients.Annals of Emergency Medicine. 1991; 20: 730-733
- It takes more than ramps to solve the crisis of health care for people with disabilities. Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago2004
- Perceived stress in individuals with spinal cord injury.in: Krotosk D.M. Nosek M.A. Turk M.A. Women with physical disabilities: Achieving and maintaining health and well-being. Paul H. Brookes, Baltimore1996
- SUDAAN user’s manual, release 7.5. Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC1997
- Healthy people 2010. 2000 (Washington, D.C.)
- Practical considerations in the performance of physical examinations on women with physical limitations and disabilities.Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey. 1999; 54: 457-462
- Outcomes for persons with rheumatoid arthritis with a rheumatologist versus a non-rheumatologist as the main physician for this condition.Medical Care. 1998; 36: 513-522
Biography
Frances M. Chevarley, PhD, is a senior survey statistician in the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends at the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Her disability research focuses on health care for persons with disabilities and disability measurement in national surverys.
Biography
JoAnn M. Thierry, PhD, is a behavioral scientist in the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research focuses on health promotion for women with disabilities, health communication, and the prevention of secondary conditions.
Biography
Carol J. Gill, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Deparment of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Director of Graduate Studies for the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Disability Studies. Her research focuses on disability identity development, health service experiences of women with disabilities, bioethical issues, and professional training.
Biography
A. Blythe Ryerson, MPH, is an epidemiologist in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her current research focuses on the clinical patterns of care for women diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer.
Biography
Margaret A. Nosek, PhD, is Executive Director of the Center for Research on Women with Disabilities and Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine. Her research focuses on the health of women with disabilities, particularly health promotion, eHealth interventions, and access to health care.
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
October 6,
2006
Received in revised form:
September 27,
2006
Received:
December 5,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- CorrectionWomen's Health IssuesVol. 17Issue 1
- PreviewPlease note the following corrections to the article, “Health, Preventive Health Care, and Health Care Access Among Women with Disabilities in the 1994-1995 National Health Interview Survey, Supplement on Disability,” by Frances M. Chevarley et al that appeared in the November/December 2006 (Vol. 16, No. 6) issue of Women’s Health Issues:
- Full-Text
- Preview
