The Future of Disability in America (2007) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 16-34
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 16... ...
Positive choices made today not only can prevent the onset of many potentially disabling conditions but also can mitigate their effects and help create more supportive physical and social environments that promote a future of increased independence and integration for people with disabilities. The future of disability in America is not a minority issue.
|
From page 17... ...
report Disability in America was published is now a much more urgent concern as the initial movement of the post-World War II baby boom generation into late life is about to begin. People born in 1946 will turn age 65 in 2011.
|
From page 18... ...
. Recent years have seen a rapid increase in the number of workers providing personal care services and a less sharp increase in the number of nursing home and residential care aides, but data suggest that only one worker is available for every 10 potential consumers (Kaye et al., 2006)
|
From page 19... ...
. They concluded that the decline is associated with an increase in the reported use of walkers, shower seats, and other assistive technologies, especially among older people who had neither a spouse nor children to provide informal caregiving.
|
From page 20... ...
. As part of an examination of the developments that have taken place since the publication of the 1991 and 1997 reports and as agreed upon with the study's sponsors, the study focused on several topics, including • Methodological and policy issues related to the definition, measurement, and monitoring of disability • Trends in the amount, types, and causes of disability • Secondary health conditions and aging with disability • Transitions for young people from pediatric to adult health care services • Assistive technologies and supportive physical environments • Coverage of assistive technologies and risk adjustment of payments to health plans by Medicare and other payers • Directions for research To undertake this study, the IOM, which is the health policy arm of the National Academy of Sciences, appointed a 14-member committee of experts.
|
From page 21... ...
Chapter 5 discusses secondary health conditions and aging with disability. The focus of Chapters 6 and 7 is how the physical environment and technologies contribute to disability or to independence and participation in the community.
|
From page 22... ...
In addition, advances in science and engineering increasingly allow people to overcome or compensate for physical or mental impairments through medical interventions, assistive technologies, or environmental modifications. Scientists and clinicians know more today about the nature, extent, and management of many secondary health conditions such as pressure ulcers that can -- if they are not prevented or successfully treated -- become more limiting and dangerous than the initial, primary health condition.
|
From page 23... ...
For older workers with chronic health conditions, such accommodation could reduce the impact of the scheduled and potential future increases in the age at which full Social Security benefits are available. Despite advances in science and technology, a critical question is whether the research gains achieved since 1991 have been translated into public and private policy and practice in the United States.
|
From page 24... ...
The 1991 IOM report particularly stressed the interaction between individual characteristics and environmental barriers in creating disability. Despite progress, significant environmental barriers remain, sometimes in places where one would not expect them, for example, in hospitals and health care professional offices that lack buildings, equipment, and services suitable for people with physical mobility, sensory, and other impairments.
|
From page 25... ...
Doing so will require more intensive efforts to build on past successes, for example, by more fully developing and taking advantage of research and technological advances to promote healthy aging and prevent or limit health conditions and environmental barriers that contribute to disability. It will also
|
From page 26... ...
society make the choices that will help define the future of disability? Will the country commit to actions to limit the development and progression of physical and mental impairments in late life, promote good health for children and young adults with early-onset disabilities, and reduce environmental barriers for people with existing impairments?
|
From page 27... ...
Actions that prevent or reduce rather than create disability include making products and places more accessible to people with disabilities, eliminating policy disincentives for work, financing equitable access to assistive services and technologies, preparing health care professionals to provide appropriate care to people with disabilities, and investing in research to guide the design of policies and practices that promote independence and participation. Ultimately, the future of disability in America rests with Americans.
|
From page 28... ...
. The increased awareness of disability as a public health issue is evident in Healthy People 2010 (DHHS, 2000b)
|
From page 29... ...
6-12 (In development) Reduce the proportion of people with disabilities reporting environmental barriers to participation in home, school, work, or community activities.*
|
From page 30... ...
and Supplemental Security Income programs serve as important social safety nets for people with serious chronic health problems and impairments. At the end of 2004, almost 8 million "disabled workers and dependents" received income under the provisions of the Social Security Act, and that number increased significantly during the 1990s (SSA, 2006e)
|
From page 31... ...
1862 Congress established veterans' pensions based on war-related disability 1890 Disability Act of 1890 provided veterans' pensions whether or not a disability was war related 1918 Soldiers Disability Act created vocational rehabilitation program for veterans 1920 Civilian Vocational Rehabilitation Act expanded the program to civilians 1935 Social Security legislation did not include disability insurance but created state-federal assistance programs that covered certain adults and children with disabilities 1943 Barden-Lafollette Act expanded eligibility for vocational rehabilitation services to people with cognitive and psychiatric impairments 1950 Social Security Act amendments extended state-federal assistance program to include "needy disabled" 1956 Social Security Act amendments created Social Security Disability Insurance to provide cash benefits to eligible workers ages 50 to 64 and adult children of deceased or retired workers if the child was disabled before age 18; later amendments expanded eligibility to younger workers 1961 American National Standards Institutes (a private group) set first minimum standards for making buildings accessible for "the physically handicapped" 1961 President's Panel on Mental Retardation was created; in 1963 it called for the deinstitutionalization of people with mental illness 1965 Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act passed; Medicare and Medicaid programs established; Older Americans Act included provisions related to frail or homebound older people 1968 Architectural Barriers Act required accessibility in construction or alteration of federally owned or leased buildings 1970 Urban Mass Transportation Act required local authorities to design mass transit systems to be accessible to people with "handicaps" 1972 Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
|
From page 32... ...
1996 Telecommunications Act of 1996 required that broadcast and cable television provide closed captions to improve accessibility for people with hearing loss 1997 Amendments to IDEA supported initiatives for transition services for young people moving from school to adult living 1998 Assistive Technology Act established grant program for states 1998 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act required electronic and information technology acquired by federal agencies to meet accessibility standards (regulations issued in 2001) 1999 Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act provided health benefits and other encouragements for people to work rather than rely on cash benefits and reinforced requirements for federal agency purchase of accessible electronic equipment 2001 New Freedom Initiative announced by executive order with a focus on access to assistive technologies, work, education, and other opportunities for people with disabilities 2004 Amendments to IDEA called for every state to develop a transition monitoring plan NOTE: This table does not include important U.S.
|
From page 33... ...
Early policies often emphasized income support. Many significant policies were adopted in the 1960s, and the pace of policy development accelerated through the 1970s as a civil rights perspective was embraced by and for people with physical or mental impairments.
|
From page 34... ...
; and prohibited discrimination in the provision of goods or services by commercial facilities and places of public accommodation, including private health care facilities. The legislation also directed improvements in the availability of certain interstate and intrastate telecommunications services for people with hearing and speech impairments (see Appendix F)
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.