Disabilities, Health Promotion for People With

Many people with disabilities have substantially greater difficulty participating in various types of health-promoting behaviors such as regular physical activity, good nutrition, social activities, regular access to medical care and preventive examinations, attending smoking cessation classes, and so forth compared with the general population because of limited physical and/or programmatic access to these services and programs. Lack of health education and health awareness exacerbates the limited access they have to health care and health care follow-up, creating formidable barriers to effective health promotion practices. The risk to people with disabilities from low participation or adherence to various types of health promotion programs is particularly more as they report a lower rate of good health and have a higher number of health conditions (e.g., spasticity, seizures, ...