Research contributions and implications

Distinguishing and characterizing the terms “chronic conditions” and “disability” is important to the quality of public health research. Research has documented that people with disabilities experience higher prevalences of chronic conditions than the general population; however, these differences are rarely attributable to the pre-existing disability, and instead likely stem from preventable environmental factors. In this paper we describe contributions from the research as well as the need for a paradigm shift to effectively address the unique public health needs of people with disabilities. In addition, we describe evidence of support for such a paradigm shift. We intend for this paper to invite discussion in the field about methods to elicit the changes necessary in public health research for improved policy and practice that better address the public health needs of people with disabilities.