Project Description:
DRRP: Health and Health Care Disparities Among Individuals with Disabilities (Health Disparities Project)
A growing body of research has documented that persons with disabilities experience health disparities compared to the general population. The DRRP: Health and Health Care Disparities Among Individuals with Disabilities will move from documenting disparities between people with and without disabilities, to determining what factors relate to health outcomes and health care access among the diverse populations of individuals with disabilities. Building on the findings of our RRTC on Health and Wellness, the goal of the Health Disparities Project is to generate new knowledge about health access and health outcomes and translate and disseminate the findings for researchers, policy makers, and others.
The project will be assisted by a national expert panel assembled for this study, including Lisa Iezzoni, MD; Glen Fujiura, PhD; Elena Andresen, PhD, and Henry T. Ireys, Ph.D, as well as key project staff. Through intensive and sustained deliberations, the panel will determine working definitions, key questions and analytic models for the studies. Disability perspectives will be integrated throughout the project process from development of the research hypotheses, selection of design, and analysis of data through representation on the national expert panel and ongoing consultation at critical junctures in the studies.
The project will have four major components:
? A review and synthesis of existing research on health and health care access among individuals with disabilities and subgroups of individuals with disabilities. The project will use this review to inform the subsequent research activities of the project.
? Two series of logistic regression and path analysis modeling studies using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data. The first series of studies will determine models of systems level, environmental level, and individual level factors that relate to health care access among persons with a range of disabilities. The second series of studies will extend these analyses to determine models of health outcomes for persons with a range of disabilities. Formulation of the studies and subsequent interpretation of their findings will be informed by member-check validation studies at the initiation of the project, mid-point and in final interpretation.
? Translation of research findings to impact future research, and programs and policy development through both proactive and interactive dissemination methods. The culmination of the project Policy and Dissemination Forum conducted conjointly with national disability foundations and foundations regarding research, program, and policy implications.
Completion of this integrated set of project activities will ensure that the field of health disparities research advances beyond documentation to explanation and opportunity for resolution.
Keyword(s):
adults with disabilities, disparities, health outcomes, health care
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote
