“Those disabled people, they’re not somebody else.” The words
from APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin identified a
continuing public health problem — health equity for Americans
living with disabilities — at the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s Public Health Grand Rounds last week in
Atlanta. Defining the word “disability” shaped much of the
dialogue, along with making “prevention of disability a core
issue of medical care,” in the words of CDC Director Tom
Frieden. “Take the stigma out,” Benjamin said. “As I get older,
it’s clear to me every morning when I get up a little stiffer
than I did the day before, it’s clear someday I will have more
challenges. Everyone should be able to see themselves in this
place….It’s not somebody else’s problem, it’s our problem.”
Obesity, smoking and trouble accessing health care
disproportionately affect disabled Americans, according to CDC
data. Additionally: - one in six American adults live with a
disability; - people with disabilities are 2.5 times