University of Florida establishes state office on disability

University of Florida researchers have received a $1.6 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish the state's first centralized program to coordinate Florida's disability programs and services.

Florida is one of 16 states to receive the five-year State Disability and Health Program award, which is being used to create the Office on Disability and Health at UF.

"Florida has strong disability-related programs, but disability issues are often compartmentalized into groups focused on advocacy, service, health care, Medicaid, education or chronic disease prevention. To be effective, all groups need to come to the table with their own expertise," said Office on Disability and Health Director Elena Andresen, Ph.D., a professor and chairwoman of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions.

Compared with the national average of 19 percent, more than 22 percent of the state's population - or 3 million Floridians - report having a disability, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. An increase in the number of residents over the age of 65, from 2.8 million in 2000 to a projected 4 million by 2015, is expected to significantly raise the prevalence of disabilities in Florida.

Among the issues facing the disability population are higher rates of secondary conditions such as joint pain and obesity, lower quality of life and limited health-care access, Andresen said.

"In 2005, twice as many people living with a disability reported that they could not see a doctor because of cost compared to people without a disability," she said.

In addition, 80 percent of people without a disability report always or usually getting the emotional support they need, while only 68 percent of people with disabilities report getting emotional support, according to data collected by Florida's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

The Office on Disability and Health at UF will design, implement, monitor and evaluate state and community programs and services for people with disabilities. The office will also provide technical assistance to ensure best practices and use standardized methods and tools for data collection.

"The information gleaned from our data sources helps to quantify the number of people living with disabilities and the type of disabilities, by functional limitations or diagnosis, that are most common in the state," Andresen said. "This information is critical in the development of effective policies and appropriate funding decisions at the state and federal level."

With guidance from an advisory board made up of representatives from nearly 20 state, academic and community organizations, the office will create a strategic plan by early 2008 that addresses three main objectives: reducing the incidence and severity of secondary conditions for people with a disability, improving their access to public health programs and implementing health promotion and wellness programs for people with disabilities.

The board's five-year plan will include measurable outcomes that follow those set forth by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' report "Healthy People 2010." Examples include reducing the percentage of joint pain in people with a disability from 70 percent to 60 percent, increasing the number of people with a disability who have taken a class on diabetes management from 50 percent to 75 percent and increasing the percentage of people living with a disability reporting excellent or good overall health from 52 percent to 65 percent.

Complementary projects also covered by the CDC grant include a statewide public education campaign led by UF assistant professor Ellen Lopez, Ph.D., on the importance of breast health screening for women with physical disabilities; the development of curricula for health professions students on the treatment of people with disabilities by Susan Havercamp, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of South Florida; and a surveillance program to quantify risks and determine outcomes of disability programs, led by Andresen.

"Because disability is likely to impact all people at some time, it is important to have a sound framework for addressing disability and health issues, since they are truly population issues," Andresen said.