Using National Survey Data to Estimate Healthcare Communication Disparities for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have identified considerable health outcome disparities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) as well as poor or ineffective communication between adults with IDD and their medical providers.

Methods: Using National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data, this paper uses logistic regression to estimate disparities in healthcare communication and satisfaction between adults with IDD, adults with non-IDD disabilities, and adults with no reported disabilities, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Communication quality is measured with survey questions about whether medical providers are respectful, ask for patients' opinions, and offer understandable medical information.

Results: We identified sizeable disparities in communication quality and satisfaction between adults with non-IDD disabilities and no reported disabilities. Adults with IDD experienced significantly lower odds of receiving understandable information compared to adults with no reported disabilities. There are suggestive evidence that adults with IDD have lower odds of being satisfied with healthcare, having their opinion asked, and feeling respected.

Conclusions: There are healthcare communication and satisfaction disparities between adults with and without IDD or other disabilities. Future research should characterise the size and exact nature of these disparities in communication quality and satisfaction for those with IDD. These findings can inform interventions and trainings to improve communication quality and satisfaction for those with all forms of disability.