Online Program

293814
Health of people living with paralysis in the United States


Monday, November 4, 2013 : 10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Amy Pilley, MPH, Center for Development and Disability, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM
Vincent Campbell, PhD, Division of Human Development and Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Building on work that assessed the scientific merit of various alternatives to monitoring surveillance for people with paralysis in the U.S. (Fox, et al., 2008), a national, population-based survey identified more than 5.6 million people in the United States who reported being paralyzed in 2009. That survey used a functional definition of paralysis: difficulty or inability to move the upper or lower extremities due to a condition of the central nervous system. The leading cause of paralysis was stroke, followed by spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis. To enhance our understanding of the health of people living with paralysis in the United States, a second national, random-digit dial survey of over 70,000 households was initiated in 2012. Items used on the survey were taken from normed, validated surveys including the American Community Survey, BRFSS and others. The presentation will present preliminary findings from that survey regarding the health of people reporting paralysis and identify possible opportunities to improve health and wellness for this population.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Compare the health of people living with paralysis in the U.S. to people reporting a disability of any kind and to the general population

Keyword(s): Disability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the chief disability officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.