Use of outcomes information in acute inpatient rehabilitation.

Objective: To describe the ways in which rehabilitation outcomes information is used in the acute inpatient rehabilitation industry and the industry's views on the topic of public disclosure of rehabilitation outcomes information.

Design: A mixed-methods approach, featuring data from 39 informational telephone interviews with rehabilitation industry stakeholders followed by a survey of 95 randomly sampled acute inpatient rehabilitation provider organizations.

Results: Both the informational interviews and survey findings revealed that there is currently little stakeholder demand for functional outcomes information.

Access to health care services among people with chronic or disabling conditions: patterns and predictors.

Objective: To examine patterns of access to a variety of specific health care services among people with chronic or disabling conditions, focusing on factors that predict access to services.

Design: National survey of 800 adults with cerebral palsy (CP), multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI), or arthritis.

Setting: Respondents were surveyed in the general community.

Primary care satisfaction among adults with physical disabilities: the role of patient-provider communication.

Objectives: To determine overall satisfaction with primary care among people with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injury, and to identify potential differences in primary care satisfaction between managed care (MC) and fee-for-service (FFS) enrollees with these physical disabilities.

Participants: The sample consisted of 195 people with cerebral palsy (CP), multiple sclerosis (MS), and spinal cord injury (SCI), between the ages of 18 and 65 who had received primary care services in the six months prior to the survey.

Measurements: Satisfaction with various aspects of primary care were assessed using a 10-item self-report measure.

Rates of access to assistive equipment and medical rehabilitation services among people with disabilities.

Purpose: To determine rates of access to assistive equipment and medical rehabilitation services among people with disabilities in the US, and to determine whether health plan type is associated with rates of access to these health services.

Method: Results were derived from a nationwide US survey sample of people with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury. Analyses were restricted to working-age adults (n=500).

The organization and financing of health services for persons with disabilities.

Americans with disabilities are rarely considered a distinct group of health care users in the same way as are older Americans, children, racial and ethnic minorities, and others who are perceived to have different needs and access issues. Indeed, to some extent individuals with disabilities overlap with all these groups. But they also have distinct needs with material implications for the organization, delivery, and financing of health care services.