Schedule

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Join us as we kick off this year’s series with a discussion of the lived experiences and outcomes of people with disabilities in Ohio. Drs. Ayers and Havercamp are two of the leading researchers in disability and health. They will share their expertise with a particular focus on social determinants of health and equity.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Describe the current health status of Ohioans with disabilities
• Summarize the health disparities and inequities experienced by people with disabilities, including people who are multiply marginalized
• Explain the importance of defining people with disabilities as a focus of population health

View the Recording

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In February 2023, Ohio launched its next generation of Medicaid managed care. Learn how Ohio maximized provisions within the Medicaid program to address population health, health equity, and social determinants of health in this “reimagined” managed care. Hear how people with disabilities are being considered a population for the first time and how managed care plans are meeting the needs of their disabled members.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Explain why Medicaid added people with disabilities as a target population
• Describe ways people with disabilities have advocated for health equity in Ohio
• List ways Managed Care plans are collaborating on population health and social determinants of health to improve outcomes for people with disabilities

View the Recording

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In 2018, an estimated 17.4 million (32.9%) adults with disabilities experienced frequent mental distress. Frequent mental distress is associated with poor health behaviors, increased use of health services, mental disorders, chronic disease, and limitations in daily life.

Ohio data indicates adults with disabilities experience depression at rates higher than any other group, and adults with developmental disabilities have significantly higher rates of all unmet care needs, including mental health, than the general population.

Join us as we learn about barriers to and promoters of access to quality mental health care for people with disabilities.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Summarize the barriers to mental health care access and quality for people with disabilities
• Describe current efforts to address access and quality barriers
• List resources to meet the unique mental health care needs of people with disabilities

View the Recording

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People with disabilities have a right to equitable access to quality reproductive health services, including family planning, contraception, screening for sexually transmitted infections, maternal health services, and fertility services. Their access is often limited due to both physical and philosophical barriers.

This month’s roundtable focuses on the sexual and reproductive health of people with disabilities, inviting attendees to consider how they can challenge assumptions and improve access to quality care.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Summarize the barriers to sexual and reproductive health care access and quality for people with disabilities
• Describe current efforts to address access and quality barriers
• List resources to meet the unique health care needs of people with disabilities

View the Recording

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As health plans and providers screen for social determinants of health and make referrals to meet identified needs, they must consider accessibility. The home environment is critical to improving the quality of life and independence for individuals with disabilities. People with physical disabilities remain disproportionately impacted by the lack of accessible and affordable homes compared to individuals without disabilities.

Similarly, adults with disabilities are twice as likely as those without disabilities to have inadequate transportation (31 percent vs. 13 percent). They also report not using public transportation due to inaccessible stops or lack of availability.

Attendees will learn about efforts to increase accessible housing and transportation and build their awareness of resources throughout Ohio.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Summarize the implications of and issues around housing and transportation for people with disabilities
• Describe current efforts to address barriers
• List accessible housing and transportation resources and ways to meet the needs of people with disabilities

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According to the Ohio Department of Education, there are consistent gaps in academic performance and graduation rates of students with disabilities compared to their nondisabled peers:

• Students with disabilities are almost three times less likely to enter kindergarten demonstrating readiness.
• Fewer than one-third of Ohio’s students with disabilities are proficient on the third-grade English language arts assessment.
• On the state English language arts assessment, 28.9% of students with disabilities scored proficient or better as compared to 64.6% for all students.
• Ohio’s students with disabilities are more likely to experience exclusionary discipline practices than their peers who do not have disabilities.

In addition, students with disabilities are two to three times more likely to experience bullying.

Join us as we consider how health can partner with education to improve these outcomes.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Summarize the school experiences and educational outcomes of people with disabilities
• Describe current efforts to address education access and quality barriers
• List resources to meet the unique health care needs of students with disabilities, their families, and the education community

View the Recording

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People with disabilities earn significantly lower wages than nondisabled workers, with U.S. disabled workers earning 87 cents to every dollar earned by nondisabled workers. Even when compensated fairly, disabled people may remain food insecure due to the extra expenses related to having a disability.

In addition, to become or remain eligible for many social safety net programs, disabled people must contend with restrictive rules around asset limits and work requirements, forcing them to remain in poverty or lose critical benefits.

In addition, efforts to address “food deserts” often focus only on physical distance from a convenient grocery store, but food deserts for disabled people include a wider array of issues than just proximity, including store and transportation accessibility as well as access to affordable, and sometimes specialized, food.

In this month’s roundtable, we will consider the implications of poverty and food insecurity as well as the ways plans, providers, and communities are partnering to meet these needs.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Summarize the implications of and issues around poverty and food insecurity for people with disabilities
• Describe current efforts to promote economic stability
• List resources available to meet the unique needs of people with disabilities

View the Recording

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In 2022, 21.3 percent of persons with a disability were employed compared to 65.4 of people without disabilities.

Across all age groups, people with disabilities are much less likely to be employed than those with no disability. The unemployment rate for persons with a disability is almost twice as high as the rate for persons without a disability, and people with disabilities are more likely to be employed only part time.

In addition, nearly 8 in 10 people with a disability are not in the labor force at all (neither working nor unemployed) compared with about 3 in 10 of those with no disability.

The impacts of employment are “bi-directional”: employment and income have a direct impact on life expectancy, quality of life, and health care costs; medical health has a direct impact on employability.

Join us to learn more about employment, disability, and the resources available to support the employment of people with disabilities in Ohio.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Summarize the implications of and issues around employment for people with disabilities
• Describe current efforts to promote employment of people with disabilities
• List resources available to meet the unique needs of people with disabilities

View the Recording

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According to the Association for Community Living, at least 53 million people (about twice the population of Texas) were providing informal, usually unpaid, care and support to aging family members and people of all ages with disabilities (including mental health conditions). At the same time, at least 2.7 million grandparents—and an unknown number of other relative caregivers—carried the primary responsibility for caring for grandchildren whose parents were unable to do so.

These numbers are increasing rapidly due to growing populations of older adults and people with disabilities; the long-standing shortage of direct care workers, which has reached crisis proportions during the pandemic; the continuing opioid crisis and other issues that are creating thousands of new ‘grandfamilies’ each year, and a variety of other factors.

When family caregivers do not have training, support, and opportunities for rest and self-care, their own health, well-being, and quality of life suffer. Their financial future can also be put at risk—lost income due to family caregiving is estimated to be a staggering $522 billion each year.

As we wrap up our roundtable series, we will consider the critical role of family caregivers and ways health care partners can strengthen and support this invaluable group

Learning Objectives

After completing this training, attendees will:

• Summarize the lived experiences of family caregivers
• Describe current efforts to support family caregivers
• List resources available to meet the unique needs of family caregivers

View the Recording

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