Disability and Health Data at Your Fingertips

There are important health differences between people with and without disabilities. Do you know what they are in your state? Disability and Health Data System (DHDS) can help you find out.

Disability doesn’t have to equal poor health. However, adults with disabilities are more likely to be obese,1 smoke,2 have high blood pressure3and be physically inactive.4 These are all preventable factors that can increase the risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers,4-6 which are also more common among adults with disabilities.7

CDC created Disability and Health Data System (DHDS) to provide the vital information needed to better understand the health needs of adults with disabilities at the state and national levels. Equipped with these data, state epidemiologists, researchers, policy makers, public health professionals and everyone interested in the health of adults with disabilities can plan for inclusive communities that offer the programs and services needed to improve the health of this population.

Do you want to learn more about DHDS?

CDC’s Disability and Health Branch, in collaboration with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors will host two webinars on using DHDS.

Thursday, June 21, 2018
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET
Beginner’s Guide to DHDS: This course is for users who want to learn the basics of using DHDS to investigate health differences between adults with and without disabilities.
Register here now!

Tuesday, June 26, 2018
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET
DHDS: Beyond the Basics: For users who want to explore more advanced features, learn tips about utilizing the data currently available in the system, and see examples of how the data can be used to plan for disability inclusive programs and services.
Register here now!

Diseases and health issues of people with disabilities vs. people without disabilities

According to DHDS, adults with disabilities are more likely to be obese, smoke, have heart disease and have diabetes. View large image and text description.

DHDS is

Interactive – An online, easy-to-use data tool that provides state and national level data on approximately 30 health topics for adults with disabilities.
Customizable – You can explore data by indicator (e.g., health topic) or by location, then customize maps, charts, and tables, making it easy to view information for your state.

Data Available in DHDS

DHDS includes analyzed data from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on

Disability estimates
- Disability status (any disability or no disability) and disability types (*cognitive, mobility, vision, self-care, independent living, and for the first time hearing disability) overall, and
- By age, sex, race/ethnicity, veteran status.
Demographics among adults with and without disabilities and by disability types
- Income level,
- Education level,
- Marital status, and
- Employment status.
Approximately 30 health topics among adults with and without disabilities and by disability types, including
- Smoking,
- Obesity,
- Heart disease,
- Diabetes,
- Binge drinking,
- Flu vaccine, and
- Healthcare coverage.

With DHDS, you can answer questions, such as

What is the percentage of adults with a disability in my state?
How does this population vary by age, sex, and race/ethnicity?
How does my state compare with other states and the nation as a whole?
How does the percentage of diabetes, obesity, or heart disease vary across people with select disability types?

CDC’s Partners and State Programs are Using DHDS

“The students were astonished with how easy it is to use DHDS and how rich the data are. I had them practice finding disability and health data and building an argument around it to convince health professionals as to why people with disabilities should be a priority population.”

David Ellsworth – Health Services Policy Specialist, Ohio Disability and Health Program.

Ohio

The Ohio Disability and Health Program used DHDS to create a fact sheet on smoking data and cessation resources available to Ohioans with disabilities[222 KB] for use by health professionals, educators, disability advocates, and community members. The Ohio Disability and Health Program distributed the fact sheet through their social media, website, and email networks; then they contracted with the American Association on Health and Disability for dissemination to a national audience.

David Ellsworth, a Health Services Policy Specialist with the Ohio Disability and Health Program, gave a presentation to trainees at the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program about “Big Data.” He discussed how databases, such as DHDS, can be used to convince partners to prioritize efforts that address the health needs of people with disabilities.

In addition, DHDS was used as a resource to inform the Ohio 2017-2019 State Health Improvement Plan that determines state-wide health priorities, including priorities for people with disabilities.

“I personally use the DHDS system to pull data not only for our Disability and Health Program, but also for classes I teach.”

Jean Hall – Director, Kansas Disability and Health Program.

Kansas

The Kansas Disability and Health Program works to teach the public about health differences faced by Kansans with disabilities. They have distributed more than 400 copies of CDC’s Kansas-specific “Disability Impacts All of Us” graphics page, which includes data from DHDS, and will be sharing it with 200 family physicians.

The Kansas Disability and Health Program submitted a proposal to the Kansas Disability Caucus to teach disability service providers and advocates about how to use DHDS and other disability data sites to pull data for their own grant proposals, legislative testimony, and public education.

Use DHDS to help improve the health and the well-being of adults with disabilities. Get started now! Visit DHDS.

You Can Use DHDS to:

Identify health differences between adults with and without disabilities overall, and by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
Download data for use in presentations, reports, or fact sheets.
Inform partners, policy makers, and communities about the health of adults with select functional disability types.
Make the case for the inclusion of people with disabilities in community programs and services they need to improve their health.

*Respondents were defined as having any disability if they reported serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions (cognitive disability); serious difficulty hearing or deafness (hearing disability), serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs (mobility disability); serious difficulty seeing or blindness (vision disability); difficulty dressing or bathing (self-care disability); or difficulty doing errands alone (independent living disability).

References

Weil E, Wachterman M, McCarthy EP, et al. Obesity among adults with disabling conditions. JAMA 2002; 288:1265-1268.
Courtney-Long E, Stevens A, Caraballo R, Ramon I, Armour BS. Disparities in current cigarette smoking prevalence by type of disability, 2009-2011. Public Health Rep 2014; 129(3):252–60.
Stevens A, Courtney-Long E, Gillespie C, Armour BS. Hypertension among US adults by disability status and type, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001–2010. Prev Chronic Dis 2014; 11:E139.
Carroll D, Courtney-Long E, Stevens A, Sloan M, Lullo C, Visser S, Fox M, Armour B, Campbell V, Brown D, and Dorn, J. Disability and Physical Activity – United States, 2009-2012. MMWR. 2014.
Department of Health and Human Services (US). The health consequences of smoking: a report of the Surgeon General. Washington: HHS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health (US); 2004.
Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, Cushman WC, Green LA, Izzo JLJr, et al. Seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Hypertension 2003; 42(6):1206–52.
Pharr JR, Bungum T. Health disparities experienced by people with disabilities in the United States: a Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System study. Glob J Health Sci 2012; 4(6):99–108.