It's time for the NIH to formally designate people with disabilities as a US health disparity population

Jae Kennedy; Bonnielin Swenor

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2023.101468

It's time for the NIH to formally designate people with disabilities as a US health disparity population

Disabil Health J. 2023 Jul;16(3):101468. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2023.101468. Epub 2023 Mar 29.

Authors

Jae Kennedy¹, Bonnielin Swenor²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community and Behavioral Health, Washington State University College of Medicine, USA. Electronic address: jjkennedy@wsu.edu.
² The Disability Health Research Center, Johns Hopkins University, USA.

PMID: 37069003
DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2023.101468

Abstract

This commentary discusses the implications of the report and recommendations of the Working Group on Diversity's Subgroup on Individuals with Disabilities, recently endorsed by the full Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We suggest that one of these recommendations, the formal designation of people with disabilities as a US health disparity population, can be enacted immediately, which would spur new federal investment in disability-based disparities research.

Keywords: Accessibility; Disability inequities; Diversity; Equity; Inclusion; NIH research policy.

MeSH terms

Advisory Committees
Health Disparate Minority and Vulnerable Populations
Humans
National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
Persons with Disabilities*
United States