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DHDD Newsletter – May 2020
A Note from the DHDD Director:
Dear colleagues –
This month I was deployed to the Navajo Nation to support efforts to decrease the spread and impact of COVID 19. I was honored to be able to assist in this capacity.
As we continue working together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the populations that we serve during COVID-19, we also continue to move forward our ongoing work focused on children and adults with disabilities. I know many of you are working long hours and balancing multiple roles. Thank you for your continued support and for all that you do!
Best,
Georgina Peacock
Director, Division of Human Development and Disability
In the Spotlight
New CDC Resources Highlight Physical Activity and Disability
NCBDDD recently recognized National Physical Fitness and Sports Month in May in a new web feature titled, Physical Activity for People with Disabilities. In addition to providing resources that people with disabilities can use to stay active and healthy, the feature also highlights the following two recent studies by DHDD authors
New publication: Physical activity types among US adults with mobility disability, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2017
This study published in Disability and Health Journal indicates that almost half of U.S adults with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs are physically active. For those who are active, walking is the most common type of physical activity.
New publication: Differences in perceived neighborhood environmental supports and barriers for walking between US adults with and without a disability
This study in Preventive Medicine shows that adults with disabilities have more environmental barriers to physical activity than those without disabilities. Strategies that improve access for all Americans to be more active can help.
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month
Thousands of babies are born deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) in the United States each year. It’s important that they are identified early and receive appropriate support services in a timely manner. This May, in recognition of Better Hearing and Speech Month, CDC has published a feature that highlights a few examples of how health care providers and organizations in two states are adapting to provide education and other services to children who are DHH and their families during COVID-19 .
Also, view National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM) and Hands & Voices webinar series for information about activities during COVID-19 for children who are DHH.
Mental Health Awareness Month
Parenting can present many joys and challenges. For some parents, these challenges may be harder to tackle. Parents may need help facing those challenges.
DHDD’s Child Development Studies team released a new feature for Mental Health Awareness Month, Supporting Parents To Help Children Thrive. The feature highlights CDC’s Legacy for ChildrenTM program adaptations to support Spanish-speaking families.
New Resources
Learn More About Your Child’s Development Fact Sheet
DHDD’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. team has an updated fact sheet available with information from the latest guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics on child’s developmental monitoring and screening for parents and healthcare providers.
The fact sheet, Learn More About Your Child’s Development: Developmental Monitoring and Screening, is now available online – in English and Spanish – for you to print and share with others.
Identifying and Caring for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Course for Pediatric Clinicians
DHDD subject matter experts collaborated with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on a new Continuing Medical Education/Maintenance of Certification course on autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The course, Identifying and Caring for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Course for Pediatric Clinicians, covers evidence-based practices for screening, evaluation, referral for diagnosis, and management of children with ASD.
The course is now available for free to the public through AAP’s PediaLink platform.
Disability and Health Data System: 2020 Update
NCBDDD’s Disability and Health Data System has been updated to include 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. State epidemiologists, researchers and public health professionals can use these data to inform their state’s health promotion activities that aim to improve the health and well-being of people with disabilities.
Visit the Disability and Health Data System to learn about health differences between people with and without disabilities in your state and some territories.
National Public Health Agenda for Osteoarthritis: 2020 Update
The Osteoarthritis Action Alliance (OAAA), in partnership with CDC and the Arthritis Foundation (AF), has updated the National Public Health Agenda for Osteoarthritis (OA Agenda) for 2020. DHDD provided review of the document.
Recognizing the high prevalence of OA and its rising health impact and economic consequences, the 2020 Update continues to be guided by the vision, goals, and guiding principles set forth in the 2010 OA Agenda, and its primary audience is the public health community.
Publications
Comparisons of Estimates from the Behavioral Health Risk Factor Surveillance System and Other National Health Surveys, 2011-2016
A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine compared ten key and widely used variables between the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Comparing multiple-year trends suggests that prevalences or means of most variables from BRFSS had similar trends to those from NHANES and NHIS.
Read the full scientific article.
National and State Estimates of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
NCBDDD researchers have published a new article in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, National and State Estimates of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). According to this article, an estimated 5,437,988 (2.21%) U.S. adults have ASD.
These results provide important information that can help states determine the need for diagnosing and providing services to adults in the U.S. who remain unidentified with autism spectrum disorder.
Read the article or Key Findings.
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention in the United States
In this commentary published in China CDC Weekly, authors from DHDD’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention team, outline the initial implementation of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) in the U.S., followed by a review of the key factors that influenced the evolution of EHDI program over the past 20 years, including best practices, the role of public health surveillance, challenges, and the path forward.
Read the full scientific article.
Private Insurance Reimbursements for Newborn Hearing Screening
Researchers from DHDD’s Disability and Health Promotion Branch published the study “Private Insurance Reimbursements for Newborn Hearing Screening in the United States, 2013-2014” in the Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (JEHDI).
The purpose of this study was to describe private insurance reimbursements for newborn hearing screening (NBHS) in the United States. Researchers found that reimbursement for NBHS was almost three times greater when performed in an inpatient setting (e.g. in a hospital) than outpatient setting (e.g. in an audiology clinic, an audiologist’s office, or a physician’s office during a routine well child visit.)
However, the vast majority (84.3%) of privately insured infants who received a hospital-based NBHS were not separately billed for the service because the cost of providing a hearing screen for a newborn is typically bundled under the newborn delivery care charge.
Read the full scientific article.
New disability pages on the COVID 19 website
DHDD’S mission is to lead inclusive programs to optimize the health and development of children and adults with, or at risk for, disabilities.
