The Surgeon General S Call To Action To Improve The Health And Wellness Of Persons With Disabilities

Since 1900, the nation has witnessed unprecedented improvement in the health of its people thanks, in large part, to the public health movement that works to prevent disease and its spread, and to promote mental, physical and emotional well-being. As a result of a century of public health initiatives, such as vaccinations, improved nutrition and sanitation, and new treatments to combat acute illnesses, millions of people have led longer, healthier lives. As a result, the emphasis of the nation's work in public health has shifted from a focus solely on acute illnesses to a more balanced approach that has added attention to chronic medical conditions and the factors that cause them. The perception of disability—a condition of the body, mind, or senses of a person of any age that may affect the ability to work, learn or participate in community life—also is in transition. With the recognition that disability is not an illness, the emphasis increasingly is on continuity of care and the relationship between a person with a disability and the environment at the physical, emotional and environmental levels. This approach is based on the knowledge that good health means the same thing for everyone, and that the best possible health status and quality of years of life should be a goal for everyone, whether experiencing a disability or not. Today, 54 million Americans—more than one fifth of us—are living with at least one disability. Some individuals are born with a disability; others acquire disabilities over the course of their lifetime. At any time, each of us is at risk for acquiring a disability, whether through an illness, an injury, genetics, or any number of other causes. This Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of Persons with Disabilities is built on the need to promote accessible, comprehensive health care that enables persons with disabilities to have a full life in the community with integrated services, consistent with the President's New Freedom Initiative. Persons with disabilities must have accessible, available and appropriate health care and wellness promotion services. They need to know how to—and to be able to—protect, preserve and improve their health in the same ways as everyone else. This Call to Action encourages health care providers to see and treat the whole person, not just the disability; educators to teach about disability; a public to see an individual's abilities, not just his or her disability; and a community to ensure accessible health care and wellness services for persons with disabilities. This volume provides a roadmap for change. It delineates the challenges and strategies to address this critical public health concern. Because it is based on input not only from health specialists in the disability field, but also from individuals with disabilities and their family members, this Call to Action presents not just a scientific perspective on disability, but also the reality experienced by those living daily with disabilities. This Call to Action can, and must, resonate with community leaders in both the public and private sectors (including employers and the media) and with policymakers who craft or influence the creation of community programs. The principle and goals of this document can both incentivize and yield dividends for employers of persons with disabilities, including greater productivity and lower overall health costs by preventing illnesses and injuries secondary to a disability. Advocates for persons with disabilities can use this Call to Action to promote the involvement of individuals with disabilities as equal partners in all aspects of American life. With concerted action—undertaken through public-private partnerships spanning all levels of government and all service, education and research systems—the full potential of legal, health policy and health program initiatives to improve access to health and wellness services by persons with disabilities can be realized.

Discover the breadth and depth of government information and services available online. The e-Government and Web Directory: U.S. Federal Government Online (formerly the United States Government Internet Manual) serves as a guide to the changing landscape of government information online. The Directory is an indispensable guidebook for anyone who is looking for official U.S. government resources on the Web. The U.S. government's information online is massive and can be difficult to locate. The subject-based approach of this book allows you to browse for relevant sites in your field of interest rather than sift through hundreds of search results or try to guess which federal agency to consult. Researchers, business people, teachers, students, and citizens in the United States and around the world can navigate the labyrinthine federal Web with this book, e-Government and Web Directory.

The Affordable Care Act, landmark health legislation passed in 2010, called for the development of the National Prevention Strategy to realize the benefits of prevention for all Americans¿ health. This Strategy builds on the law¿s efforts to lower health care costs, improve the quality of care, and provide coverage options for the uninsured. Contents: Nat. Leadership; Partners in Prevention; Healthy and Safe Community Environ.; Clinical and Community Preventive Services; Elimination of Health Disparities; Priorities: Tobacco Free Living; Preventing Drug Abuse and Excessive Alcohol Use; Healthy Eating; Active Living; Injury and Violence Free Living; Reproductive and Sexual Health; Mental and Emotional Well-being. Illus. A print on demand report.

According to the CDC "about one in six, or about 15%, of children aged 3 through 17 years have one or more developmental disabilities," such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, and learning disability. Intellectual disorders are characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills, impacting learning, reasoning, problem solving, and other cognitive processes. These disabilities originate before the age of 18 and continue across the life span. Developmental disorders are chronic disabilities that can be cognitive or physical or both. The disabilities appear before the age of 22 and are likely to progress across the lifespan. Some developmental disorders are largely physical issues, such as cerebral palsy or epilepsy. Some individuals may have a disorder that includes a physical and intellectual disability; for example, Down syndrome or fetal alcohol syndrome. Intellectual and developmental disorders are significant and growing issues that are studied across a number of disciplines. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Intellectual and Developmental Disorders is aimed at students interested in psychology, counseling, education, social work, psychiatry, health sciences, and more. This encyclopedia will provide an in-depth look at a wide range of disorders, alongside interventions, the latest research translated for an undergraduate audience, historical context, and assessment tools for higher-level students. We will take a truly interdisciplinary approach by also covering sociocultural viewpoints, policy implications, educational applications, ethical issues, and more.

Two of the most important yet often overlooked aspects of a medical device are its usability and accessibility. This is important not only for health care providers, but also for older patients and users with disabilities or activity limitations. Medical Instrumentation: Accessibility and Usability Considerations focuses on how lack of usabi

Black people and people with disabilities in the United States are distinctively disadvantaged in their encounters with the health care system. These groups also share harsh histories of medical experimentation, eugenic sterilizations, and health care discrimination. Yet the similarities in inequities experienced by Black people and disabled people and the harms endured by people who are both Black and disabled have been largely unexplored. To fill this gap, Embodied Injustice uses an interdisciplinary approach, weaving health research with social science, critical approaches, and personal stories to portray the devastating effects of health injustice in America. Author Mary Crossley takes stock of the sometimes-vexed relationship between racial justice and disability rights advocates and interrogates how higher disability prevalence among Black Americans reflects unjust social structures. By suggesting reforms to advance health equity for disabled people, Black people, and disabled Black people, this book lays a crucial foundation for intersectional, cross-movement advocacy to advance health justice in America.