Disability As a Public Health Issue: Findings and Reflections from the Massachusetts Survey of Secondary Conditions

Overview

Journal Milbank Q

Specialties Health Services
Public Health

Date 2002 Jul 10

PMID 12101878

Citations 28

Authors

Nancy Wilber

Monika Mitra

Deborah Klein Walker

Deborah Allen

Allan R Meyers

Paul Tupper

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Public health researchers and practitioners have begun to recognize the dynamic nature of disability, promote the health of people with disabilities, and develop strategies to prevent secondary conditions among them. To understand the epidemiology of secondary conditions, the authors developed the Massachusetts Survey of Secondary Conditions, a longitudinal study of adults with major disabilities (n = 656) based on a conceptual framework linking disability, mediating factors, and health outcomes. This paper reports baseline data on the number of secondary conditions experienced by survey respondents. Respondents experienced a mean of 5.3 of 17 secondary conditions. More numerous secondary conditions were associated with fair or poor general health and number of days unable to do routine activities. Factors amenable to public health interventions included difficulty with weight and exercise maintenance, tobacco and marijuana use, and experiencing assault. Disability should be a focus in all public health research, policy, and programs.

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