September 11, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a new study, researchers with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Nisonger Center found significant disparities between individuals with and without developmental disabilities in health status, health care quality, utilization, access to care and unmet healthcare needs.
The findings, based on an analysis of data from the 2015 Ohio Medicaid Assessment Survey, will publish online today in the Annals of Family Medicine. Among children 0-18 years of age with developmental disabilities, 14 percent reported problems receiving needed care, compared to 2 percent of children without developmental disabilities. Among adults age 65 and older, 50 percent of those with developmental disabilities reported one or more unmet health care needs, compared to 17 percent of those without such disabilities.
Other Ohio State researchers involved in this study include Rebecca Andridge, Susan M. Havercamp and Emily A. Yang.
Funding for this research was provided by the Ohio State University College of Medicine Roessler Research Scholarship and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cooperative Agreement Number 2U59DD000931-04.
Media contact: Eileen Scahill, Wexner Medical Center Media Relations, 614-293-3737 or Eileen.Scahill@osumc.edu