HEALTH STATUS OF WOMEN AGING WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: NHIS-D 1994–1995

Abstract

Research on women’s health has increased substantially in the past decade, but this has not been paralleled in the area of developmental disabilities. In developmental disabilities research, there has been little attempt to disentangle the impact of age, intellectual disabilities, and other developmental disabilities on women’s health. The 1994–1995 Disability Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey, administered to a representative sample of the U.S. population, was used to describe the aging process in the community for women age 30 and older with mental retardation (MR), developmental disabilities (DD) or both (MR/DD). Definitions of MR and DD consistent with professional and legal standards were developed and adapted to the NHIS-D questions. Approximately 77 million civilian, non-institutionalized women in the United States were age 30 and older at the time of the survey. Among these women an estimated 0.56% have mental retardation or developmental disability. Compared with women in general, women with these disabilities were disproportionately absent in the community, had negative perceptions of their health status, and their health indicators tended to support these perceptions. Most women with these disabilities were independent in activities of daily living (ADL), but instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) posed more of a challenge, and limitations in major activities were common. Limitations in mobility were common among women with DD.

Citation

Anderson, D.J. (2003), "HEALTH STATUS OF WOMEN AGING WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: NHIS-D 1994–1995", Altman, B.M., Barnartt, S.N., Hendershot, G.E. and Larson, S.A. (Ed.) Using Survey Data to Study Disability: Results from the National Health Survey on Disability (Research in Social Science and Disability, Vol. 3), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 257-273. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3547(03)03013-6