Socio-Economic Profile of People with Disabilities: A Health Impact

Abstract

The objective was to compare the socioeconomic profile and the repercussions for effects on the health of people with physical, hearing and visual of the main Ceará state associations in Brazil. Quantitative study carried out from March to August 2012 through a structured questionnaire with 120 subjects. Variables were: gender, age, education, family income and marital status. Studies are necessary to examine the effects of sociodemographic characteristics on health. The results indicate that the three deficiencies have different distributions in all age groups (p = 0.001), and auditory and visual obtained the highest percentage in the age group of 18 - 29 years (67.5% and 40%, respectively), while motor in the range of 30 - 49 (60%), if no association between level of education and disability was found (p = 0.553). Family income showed a statistically significant difference between disability (p = 0.044), with lower income in hearing loss (45%) and higher in the visual (42.5%). Studies have demonstrated that people with disabilities are not homogeneous. It is important to examine socioeconomic indicators, and individual needs and characteristics to plan effective action.