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Volume 5
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10.3390/disabilities5040110
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Article

Discrimination Among Disabled Adults in the United States: Findings from the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability

by
Abby Mulcahy
1,2,3,
Elizabeth K. Schmidt
4,*,
Darcy Jones McMaughan
5,
Kelsey Shinnick Goddard
6,
Katie Batza
7,
Anna Marie Wallisch
8,
Carl G. Streed
9,10,
Noelle K. Kurth
6 and
Jean P. Hall
6
1
College of Undergraduate Studies, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR 97116, USA
2
Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Healthcare System, Portland, OR 97239, USA
3
Oregon Health & Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health, Portland, OR 97201, USA
4
Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Math, Sciences, and Health Professionals, Lincoln Memorial University, Cumberland Gap, TN 37724, USA
5
School of Community Health Sciences, Counseling and Counseling Psychology, College of Education and Human Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
6
Institute for Health and Disability Policy Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
7
Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
8
Division of Developmental and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
9
Section of General Internal Medicine, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
10
Gender Care Center, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA 02118, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Disabilities 2025, 5(4), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040110 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 29 July 2025 / Revised: 22 November 2025 / Accepted: 25 November 2025 / Published: 2 December 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Disabled people face discrimination in healthcare settings, yet the compounding effects of intersectional identities remain underexplored. This project examines how different types of discrimination affect healthcare access and outcomes. We conducted a cross-sectional study of disability-based, race-based, gender-based, and sexuality-based discrimination using the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD; n = 2725) administered October 2021–January 2022. Measures used in this study include: (1) demographics; (2) types of discrimination; (3) unmet healthcare needs. Our sample was not nationally representative, as it consisted primarily of white, college-educated participants. Data were analyzed using summary statistics (STATA crosstab) among respondents with health insurance (n = 2566). Chi-squared tests were used to determine statistical significance. We fit logistic regression models for categorical responses (STATA logit), adjusting for participant characteristics. Some participants (41%; n = 2566) reported experiencing at least one form of discrimination, with 4.9% reporting race-, 15.08% gender-, 5.9% sexuality-, and 38.3% disability-based discrimination. Most participants (94%; n= 2412) reported at least one unmet healthcare need, from unmet prostheses (2.6%) to unmet dental care (34.8%). Compared with other care types, participants had the lowest odds ratio (OR = 0.38, p < 0.001) of having their preventive care or specialist care needs met. These findings highlight that discrimination contributes to disparities in particular areas of healthcare access and emphasizes a need for tailored interventions and additional research.
Keywords: disability; discrimination; unmet needs disability; discrimination; unmet needs

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mulcahy, A.; Schmidt, E.K.; McMaughan, D.J.; Goddard, K.S.; Batza, K.; Wallisch, A.M.; Streed, C.G.; Kurth, N.K.; Hall, J.P. Discrimination Among Disabled Adults in the United States: Findings from the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability. Disabilities 2025, 5, 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040110

AMA Style

Mulcahy A, Schmidt EK, McMaughan DJ, Goddard KS, Batza K, Wallisch AM, Streed CG, Kurth NK, Hall JP. Discrimination Among Disabled Adults in the United States: Findings from the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability. Disabilities. 2025; 5(4):110. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040110

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mulcahy, Abby, Elizabeth K. Schmidt, Darcy Jones McMaughan, Kelsey Shinnick Goddard, Katie Batza, Anna Marie Wallisch, Carl G. Streed, Noelle K. Kurth, and Jean P. Hall. 2025. "Discrimination Among Disabled Adults in the United States: Findings from the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability" Disabilities 5, no. 4: 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040110

APA Style

Mulcahy, A., Schmidt, E. K., McMaughan, D. J., Goddard, K. S., Batza, K., Wallisch, A. M., Streed, C. G., Kurth, N. K., & Hall, J. P. (2025). Discrimination Among Disabled Adults in the United States: Findings from the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability. Disabilities, 5(4), 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities5040110

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