Americans with

Disabilities
Alyson Seall,
Courtney Waisath,
Jillian Gunderson, &
Riley Oberholtzer
11/19/2019
Identify Vulnerable Population
● Population: American citizens with disabilities
● Definition: There is not one universally accepted definition for
disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) uses the
definition from Nagi. This defines severe disability with the
progression of four stages: pathology, impairment, functional
limitation and disability. The individual with a disability has
difficulty with societal functioning and limited ability to
perform activities of daily living, tasks and roles expected
from society. (Cornell University, 2018). According to the
American Community Survey, there are six categories that are
considered a disability among American citizens: hearing,
cognitive, vision, self-care, independent living and ambulatory
(Kraus, Lauer, Coleman & Houtenville, 2018).
Demographics of Americans with disabilities
● 26% of adults in the US have a disability
○ Around 1 out of every 4 person (CDC, 2019).
● 38.2% of people with disabilities are obese
○ Compared to those without disabilities is 26.2% (CDC,
2019).
● 35.9% of people with disabilities ages 18-64 were
employed in 2016
○ The employment percentage was more than double for
people without disabilities at 76.6% (Institute on
Disability, 2017).
(CDC, 2019).
Social determinants of health
● Economic Stability
○ This population is less likely to be employed than those
without a disability
○ If they are employed, they are earning less than those without
a disability
○ Unable to pay for costs of healthcare
○ This leads to poverty, housing insecurity, and food insecurity
(CDC, 2019).
● Health and Health care:
○ Lack of access to health care
○ ⅓ individuals with a disability do not have a usual health
care provider and have health care needs that are unmet due to
high costs (CDC, 2019).
Health disparity
● Americans with disabilities are at greater prevalence of:
○ Cardiovascular disease
■ 12.4 % in people with disabilities
■ 3.4% in people without disabilities
○ Obesity
■ 44.6% in people with disabilities
■ 34.2% in people without disabilities
○ Tobacco use
■ 28.8% in people with disabilities
■ 18.0% in people without disabilities

(CDC, 2019).
(CDC, 2019).
Health care disparity
● Americans with disabilities have decreased access to healthcare
○ Not receiving needed medical care due to cost
■ 27.0% in people with disabilities
■ 12.1% in people without disabilities
○ Decreased routine checkups
■ Ex:
● Women current with mammogram
○ 70.7% in people with disabilities
○ 76.6% in people without disabilities

(CDC, 2019).
(CDC, 2019).
Nursing intervention
● Given the high rates of physical inactivity among Americans
with disabilities, adopting an active lifestyle is an
important public health goal for these individuals (Castro,
Ng, Novoradovskaya, Bosselut, & Hassandra, 2018).
● Health teaching
○ Health professionals should deliver the reliable messages
that physical inactivity lifestyles could bring various
health problems and the burden on families and the
society (Koo, Park, & Kim, 2017).
OUR pROPOSED NURSING intervention:
Health Teaching
● Create a brochure of the benefits of physical activity with
recommended exercises that will be distributed at health offices,
given out at doctor appointments, and distributed through email for
people who prefer online sources of information
● Health professionals can recommend aerobic physical activity
options that match each person’s specific abilities and connect him
or her to resources that can help each person be physically active
(CDC,2019).
● Recommended physical activities within the brochure
○ Brisk walks
○ Swimming laps
○ Water aerobics
○ Wheelchair basketball
references
● Castro, O., Ng, K., Novoradovskaya, E., Bosselut, G., & Hassandra, M. (2018). A
scoping review on interventions to promote physical activity among adults with
disabilities. Disability and health journal, 11(2), 174-183. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2017.10.013
● Cornell University (2018). Disability Statistics: Online Resource for U.S. Disability
Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/
● Kraus, L., Lauer, E., Coleman, R., and Houtenville, A. (2018). 2017 Disability
Statistics Annual Report. Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire. Retrieved from
https://disabilitycompendium.org/sites/default/files/user-
uploads/2017_AnnualReport_2017_FINAL.pdf
● https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/features/unrecognizedpopulation.html
● Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Disability impacts us all.
Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-
impacts-all.html#
● Koo, K. M., Park, C. H., & Kim, C. J. (2017). Development of strategies for changing
in physical activity behaviors on older adults with disabilities. Journal of exercise
rehabilitation, 13(6), 676–683. doi:10.12965/jer.1735144.572