The Disability Mismatch: The Case for a Comprehensive Disability Status Measure

Scott D Landes, Bonnielin K Swenor, Jean P Hall, Anjali J Forber-Pratt, Nastassia Vaitsiakhovich, Kate Caldwell, Mihir Kakara, Deborah Lefkowitz, Andrew Myers, Susan J Popkin, Nicholas S Reed, Emily F Rothman, Maggie Salinger

Health Affairs Scholar, July 2025

Scott D. Landes

Sociology Department

Aging Studies Institute

Disability

United States

Health Affairs Scholar

Scott D. Landes

Abstract

Current disability questions used in many US federal surveys exclusively measure disability as having 1 or more of 6 functional limitations. This strategy is at odds with who is disabled as some disabled people do not experience these limitations.

Using data from a nationally representative survey of 2169 adults, this study describes the potential of a comprehensive disability status question to improve the measurement of disability.

Results from this study demonstrate that a comprehensive disability status question successfully identifies disabled people who both do, and do not, experience limitations.

These findings suggest that a single comprehensive disability status question may provide a viable and more inclusive alternative to identifying the disabled population in US federal surveys.