Publications by authors named "Alissa C Stevens"

Introduction: Adults with disabilities are more likely to be physically inactive than those without disabilities. Although receiving a health care provider recommendation is associated with physical activity participation in this population, there is little information on factors associated with primary care providers recommending physical activity to patients with disabilities.

Methods: We used 2014 DocStyles data to assess primary care provider characteristics and perceived barriers to and knowledge-related factors of recommending physical activity to adult patients with disabilities, by how prepared primary care providers felt in making recommendations.

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Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause serious brain abnormalities, but the full range of adverse outcomes is unknown (1). To better understand the impact of birth defects resulting from Zika virus infection, the CDC surveillance case definition established in 2016 for birth defects potentially related to Zika virus infection* (2) was retrospectively applied to population-based birth defects surveillance data collected during 2013-2014 in three areas before the introduction of Zika virus (the pre-Zika years) into the World Health Organization's Region of the Americas (Americas) (3). These data, from Massachusetts (2013), North Carolina (2013), and Atlanta, Georgia (2013-2014), included 747 infants and fetuses with one or more of the birth defects meeting the case definition (pre-Zika prevalence = 2.

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Nearly 40 million persons in the United States have a disability, as defined by responses to six questions recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the national standard for identifying disabilities in population-based health surveys (1).

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Article Synopsis
  • Starting in 2013, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) expanded its disability questions by adding a 5-question set to better assess disability prevalence and respondent characteristics.
  • Analysis of the 2013 data showed that 21.6% of adults reported disabilities using the 2-question set, while 22.7% reported disabilities with the 5-question set, with over half of those identifying disabilities with both.
  • The new 5-question set enhances understanding of disability types and demographics, aiding in the development of tailored health interventions and programs for individuals with specific disabilities.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Understanding disability prevalence is crucial for public health, as it helps address the needs of individuals with disabilities.
  • - The CDC's 2013 analysis of BRFSS data revealed that mobility and cognitive disabilities were the most commonly reported, with varying state-level prevalence rates.
  • - Higher disability rates were noted among women and adults in Southern states, with older age groups particularly affected, providing essential insights for targeted public health interventions.
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Efforts to improve clinical preventive services (CPS) receipt among women with disabilities are poorly understood and not widely disseminated. The reported results represent a 2-year, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs partnership to develop a central resource for existing tools that are of potential use to maternal and child health practitioners who work with women with disabilities. Steps included contacting experts in the fields of disability and women's health, searching the Internet to locate examples of existing tools that may facilitate CPS receipt, convening key stakeholders from state and community-based programs to determine their potential use of the tools, and developing an online Toolbox.

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Background: Adults with disabilities are less active and have higher rates of chronic disease than the general population. Given the health benefits of physical activity, understanding physical activity, its relationship with chronic disease, and health professional recommendations for physical activity among young to middle-age adults with disabilities could help increase the effectiveness of health promotion efforts.

Methods: Data from the 2009-2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were used to estimate the prevalence of, and association between, aerobic physical activity (inactive, insufficiently active, or active) and chronic diseases (heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer) among adults aged 18-64 years by disability status and type (hearing, vision, cognitive, and mobility).

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