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This year marks the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is proud to celebrate the significant strides made in reducing health disparities and improving inclusion for the disability community. Despite these advances, there is still much work to be done to ensure equitable healthcare access and positive health outcomes for people with disabilities.

Addressing Health Disparities

People with disabilities face considerable disparities in health conditions, which affect their community participation and emergency response experiences. With over 1 in 4 people in the United States having a disability, this group represents a significant portion of every community. Building a robust public health infrastructure that includes data, communications, and policies to better identify and incorporate people with disabilities is crucial for achieving health equity.

Improving Disability Inclusion

The CDC collaborates across various public health disciplines to enhance disability inclusion in data monitoring, disease prevention, health promotion programs, and emergency preparedness and response efforts. Our focus areas include:

1. Data Inclusion:
2. • Enhancing Representation: By engaging individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) through qualitative interviews and cognitive testing, the CDC aims to develop accessible checklists to better identify people with ID/DD in public health data.
   • Health and Wellness Promotion: The Disability and Health Data Collaborative project utilizes state Medicaid data to evaluate the health and wellness of people with ID/DD, informing healthcare policy and resource allocation decisions.
   • Informing Policies and Practices: The Disability and Health Data System (DHDS) provides comprehensive data on the health and demographics of adults with disabilities, helping states tailor health programs and address health disparities.
   • Emergency Monitoring: Collaborating with national organizations, the CDC aims to improve the identification and monitoring of emergency department visits by people with disabilities, enhancing response capacity during public health emergencies.
3. Healthcare Access:
4. • Inclusive Health Practices: Through partnerships with organizations like Special Olympics and the National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability (NCHPAD), the CDC funds programs to provide free health screenings, education, and services to individuals with ID/DD and mobility limitations.
   • Training Healthcare Professionals: By offering disability awareness training and developing evidence-based wellness modules, the CDC enhances healthcare providers' ability to serve the unique needs of people with disabilities.
   • Disability A.L.L.Y. Toolkit: This digital toolkit provides resources to help healthcare providers advocate for inclusion and accessibility, featuring insights from Special Olympics athletes and healthcare professionals on the importance of disability allyship.
5. Community Engagement:
6. • State Disability and Health Programs: These programs, reaching 3.2 million people nationwide, implement evidence-based strategies to improve health outcomes for individuals with mobility limitations and ID/DD. The CDC’s current five-year cycle focuses on preventive healthcare, healthy lifestyle adoption, and chronic disease management.
   • Living Well in the Community Training: This initiative helps individuals with disabilities set goals to enhance their quality of life and well-being.
7. Emergency Preparedness:
8. • Embedding Disability Specialists: By integrating disability specialists into public health emergency preparedness and response programs, the CDC ensures that the needs of people with disabilities are considered in planning and response efforts.
   • COVID-19 Response: During the pandemic, the CDC supported a technical assistance center to disseminate emergency preparedness resources tailored for people with disabilities. The online toolkit, Public Health is for Everyone, now includes over 100 COVID-19 resources relevant to this community.

The CDC remains dedicated to advancing health equity for people with disabilities by promoting inclusive practices, enhancing data representation, and ensuring comprehensive healthcare and community support. Through continued collaboration with partners and stakeholders, we strive to create a more inclusive and equitable public health landscape.

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DATA SOURCE: CDC’s Commitment to Disability Inclusion | CDC