Skip to page content

People with Disabilities

Featured

Commentary
Long COVID Is a Mass Disability. The Labor Market Is in Denial
Forget the work-from-home revolution or quiet quitting: The COVID-19 pandemic's biggest impact on the U.S. labor market will be as a mass disability event. It's a shock that the economy is not well prepared to handle.
Dec 7, 2022
Multimedia
Tailoring Disaster and Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery to the Needs of Older Adults and Disabled Americans
An overview of testimony by Mahshid Abir presented before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging on June 15, 2023.
Jun 15, 2023

Explore People with Disabilities

Journal Article
Modeling Disability Trajectories and Mortality of the Oldest-Old in China
This article uses a group-based modeling approach to jointly estimate disability and mortality trajectories over time based on data from the population aged 80 and older in China, and explores relations of demographic, socioeconomic, and early-life characteristics to membership in gender-specific trajectory groups.
Feb 1, 2012
Journal Article
Nutrition Standards for Away-From-Home Foods in the USA
The authors review the rationale for developing nutritional performance standards for away-from-home foods in light of limited human capacity to regulate intake or physiologically compensate for a poor diet.
Jan 1, 2012
Research Brief
California's Workers' Compensation Reform: Effects on Return to Work
This brief summarizes a study of how changes to the workers' compensation system have affected return-to-work rates in California, how return-to-work trends compare with policy changes, and recent trends in benefit adequacy.
Feb 18, 2011
Project
RAND Center for Disability Research
The RAND Center for Disability Research is focused on understanding the impacts of policy, or lack thereof, on equitable access to participation in society for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers.
Jan 21, 2011
Report
Workers' Compensation Reform and Return to Work: The California Experience
Provides a comprehensive analysis of the effects of several large changes to the workers' compensation system on return to work rates for California's injured workers.
Jan 4, 2011
Report
Research Designs for Estimating Induced Entry into the SSDI Program Resulting from a Benefit Offset
Provides the Social Security Administration with a set of research design options for estimating the induced entry effects of a proposed $1-for-$2 benefit offset for its Social Security Disability Insurance program.
Dec 14, 2010
Report
The Frequency, Severity, and Economic Consequences of Musculoskeletal Injuries to Firefighters
The most common work-related injuries among firefighters are musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The strict physical demands of the job and limited modified work opportunities suggest that MSDs are potentially more disruptive and costly to firefighters than to others.
Jun 21, 2010
Journal Article
Interventions to Improve Late Life
The author proposes that population scientists working in aging emulate those studying fertility and family planning in previous decades, learning from interventions (in this case, aimed at increasing retirement savings and reducing disability at older ages).
Jun 1, 2009
Journal Article
Perceived Effects of Leave from Work and the Role of Paid Leave Among Parents of Children with Special Health Care Needs
The authors examined the perceived effects of leave from work among employed parents of children with special health care needs.
Jan 1, 2009
Journal Article
Declines in Late-Life Disability: The Role of Early - and Mid-Life Factors
Investigations into the reasons for declines in late-life disability have largely focused on the role of contemporaneous factors. Adopting a life-course perspective as a backdrop, in this paper we ask whether there also has been a role for selected early- and mid-life factors in the decline.
Apr 1, 2008
Journal Article
Dynamics of Work Disability and Pain
Investigates the role of pain dynamics in dynamics of self-reported work disability and of employment patterns of older workers in the United States. In addition to high pain prevalence, there are many transitions in and out of pain at these ages.
Jan 1, 2008
Journal Article
Chronic Disease and Severe Disability Among Working-Age Populations
Rates of severe disability, measured by the inability to perform basic activities of daily living, have been rising in working age populations.
Jan 1, 2008
Report
Supporting independent living for disabled people: An evaluation of the Foundations for Living project
This study was to assess the impact of an initiative promoting independent living for disabled people, developed by the English disability charity Papworth Trust.
Dec 31, 2007
Journal Article
Few Parents of Chronically Ill Children Use California Paid Family Leave Program
California's pioneering paid family leave program has largely failed to reach one of its major target groups. Few parents of children with serious chronic illnesses have used the program, despite having paid into the program through payroll withholdings, and the vast majority of these parents aren't even aware that the program exists.
Dec 31, 2007
Research Brief
Severely Overweight Are Fastest Increasing Group of Obese Americans
The proportion of Americans who are severely obese — about 100 pounds or more overweight — increased by 50 percent from 2000 to 2005, twice as fast as the growth seen in moderate obesity.
Apr 8, 2007
Journal Article
Chronic Conditions and the Decline in Late-Life Disability
Using data from the 1997-2004 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the authors examine the role of chronic conditions in recent declines in prevalence of late-life disability.
Jan 1, 2007
Journal Article
Obesity and Health in Europeans Aged 50 and Older
Documents the prevalence of obesity and related health conditions for Europeans aged 50 years and older, and estimates the association between obesity and health outcomes across 10 European countries. Cross-country differences in the prevalence of obesity in older Europeans are substantial and exceed socio-demographic differentials in excessive body weight. Obesity is associated with significantly poorer health outcomes among Europeans aged 50 years and over, with effects similar across countries.
Jan 1, 2007
Journal Article
The Health and Cost Consequences of Obesity Among the Future Elderly
Obesity could have serious consequences for older cohorts. The authors used a microsimulation to estimate lifetime costs, life expectancy, disease, and disability for seventy-year-olds based on body mass.
Jan 1, 2005
Journal Article
Depression and Comorbid Pain as Predictors of Disability, Employment, Insurance Status, and Health Care Costs
Relative to depression alone, depression plus pain and pain alone were associated with significant functional limitations and economic burdens.
Jan 1, 2005
Journal Article
Labor Market, Financial, Insurance and Disability Outcomes Among Near Elderly Americans with Depression and Pain
Economic burden of depression has been documented, but the role of comorbid pain among the depressed is unclear. Using Wave 3 of the Health and Retirement Survey in 1996, we conducted multivariate regression analyses to estimate associations between depression and comorbid pain, and labor market, financial, insurance and disability outcomes among near elderly Americans aged 55-65, controlling for socio-demographics and health conditions.
Jan 1, 2005

Previous
1
2
3
4
5
6
Next

RAND Topic:
People with Disabilities

Topic Synonyms:
Special Needs Populations

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Anna Shapiro

Associate Policy Researcher

Anna Shapiro is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation with a focus on early childhood education and special education. Her research interests include strengthening early care and education systems, increasing access to high-quality public early learning opportunities, improving…
Rebecca L. Wolfe

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND

Rebecca Wolfe is a Ph.D. student in the Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and an assistant policy researcher at RAND. Her research interests include K-12 teaching and learning, STEM and environmental health literacy, and improving education outcomes…

Explore Our People »