The public health dimensions of disability

Disability traditionally has been a marginalized concern of public health and has largely been viewed as a failure of primary prevention. However, disparities in health behaviors, health access, and health status between people with and without disabilities suggest that opportunities exist for public health to engage people with disabilities to improve their overall health. In this article, we address case definition of disability, conceptual dimensions of disability that have lead to modeling of the experience of disability, as well as U.S. estimates of the population of people with disabilities. We also discuss discrete age groups - children, adults, and older adults - and evidence of health disparities between people with and without disabilities.