Research PaperAn evaluation of the American Community Survey indicators of disability
Section snippets
Methodology/analysis
NHIS data from 2011 were used for this analysis. NHIS collects information about the health and health care of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States from a representative sample of households across the country, and is conducted continuously throughout the year by NCHS. Persons excluded from the NHIS include patients in long-term care institutions, correctional facilities and U.S. nationals living in foreign countries. Interviews are conducted in the respondents'
Results
Agreement between the ACS question set and receipt of SSI/SSDI – Table 2 describes the relationship between the populations identified by the ACS and SSI/SSDI questions. Population counts and the percent distribution of the total adult population ages 18–64 categorized by responses to the ACS and the SSI/SSDI questions is provided. In addition, the percentage distribution of the population defined by a positive response to any of the ACS questions and the percentage distribution of the
Discussion
We used data from the 2011 NHIS to investigate the relationship of the ACS disability questions and the questions on receipt of SSI/SSDI benefits. We describe the conditions and functional limitations of those identified as having a disability by the ACS question set; those receiving SSI/SSDI who are also identified by the ACS questions; and those who receive SSI/SSDI but are not captured by the ACS questions. The results demonstrate that the ACS questions alone can be used to inform policy
Conclusion
There are many purposes for identifying a population with disabilities and the questions used to define the relevant populations will depend on the purpose for which the data are being collected. To monitor the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) it is necessary to track the status of a broadly defined group to determine if persons with a disability are fully included in society. The context of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act extends civil rights and equalization of opportunity to a
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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Surveys and research
2023, Disability and Health JournalDrug and alcohol use disorders among adults with select disabilities: The national survey on drug use and health
2023, Disability and Health JournalHealth status changes with transitory disability over time
2020, Social Science and MedicineCitation Excerpt :Further, Altman et al. (2017) finds concordance in disability characteristics between the population endorsing the six-question set and those receiving benefits. The concordance reported by Altman et al. (2017) may actually be greater if their analyses controlled for transitory and enduring disabilities because there may be some people who answer the ACS questions due to acute (e.g., transitory) limitations and, thus, may not be receiving benefits. More work is needed to develop measures that distinguish individuals who experience a long-term disability from those with transitory disability.
Health status and life satisfaction among people with disabilities: Evidence from Taiwan
2019, Disability and Health JournalResponse letter to J.Hall et al.
2017, Disability and Health Journal