Delimiting the Personal Care Gap: Findings from the 2025 National Survey on Health and Disability

• In Event: Aging and the Life Course Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 13: Institutional Care Arrangements and Experiences

Abstract

Access to personal care for persons with disabilities is a major social concern. Using the 2025 wave of the National Survey on Health and Disability, this study explores the differences of self-reported access and needs for personal care among persons with disabilities in the United States. Findings from a multinomial logistic regression of 1,634 people show significance along several variables: individuals’ income level, self-reported disability, work status, relationship status, use of social security disability insurance, and age. Moreover, results demonstrate a significant difference access to personal care in self-reported disability type where those with sensory disability having average marginal effects denoting, they are far less likely to report they have access to personal care compared to those with physical disabilities. This relationship inverts when disability type is intersected along age, which shows increases in self-reported personal care. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research on personal care needs.

Author

• Kevin Hans Waitkuweit, University of Illinois at Chicago