DISABILITY
ISSUES
INFORMATION
FOR
JOURNALISTS
TOPICS
ABOUT
THE CENTER
ĘThe prevalence of disability has increased markedly in children between 1979 and 2000, says a new study in the current (March, 2003) issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, but far moreso in black children. "Black children have higher rates of disability primarily owing to their increased exposure to poverty," say researchers.
Using information from CDC National Health Interview Surveys from1979-2000, the reasearchers analyzed data on 419,843 children younger than 18 years -- 22,758 with a disability.
"The prevalence of disabling conditions increased 47 percent over the years in whites and 77 percent in blacks," reported the ASsociated Press. "By 1999-2000, 67 out of 1,000 black youngsters and about 60 out of 1,000 whites had disabling conditions, and blacks were 13 percent more likely to be afflicted."
Read the study abstract
Obtain full text of article ($9) at http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/subs/login.html
Contact the study's principal author, Paul W. Newacheck, DrPH, at the Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California St, Suite 265, San Francisco, CA 94118 (e-mail: pauln@itsa.ucsf.edu).
More about the CDC's National Health Interview Survey
Related resource: "U. S. healthcare fails people with mental retardation, says report"
More about the prevalence of disability found by the 2000 Census
Read the EEOC's Primer for Small Business on complying with the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Overview
Disabled People Start Own Businesses: Study
The case against sheltered workshops