title: Disability, employment and stress regarding ability to pay for housing and healthy food.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if disability is a significant factor in increasing the likelihood of experiencing stress regarding the ability to pay for housing and healthy food.
  
  
  METHODS
  24.6% (n=16206) of 65,960 adults who responded to the social context optional module of 2009-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System identified themselves as having a disability. Adults with disabilities reported that they experienced significantly more stress about having money to pay for housing and healthy food than adults without disabilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  This research was a quantitative study using a publicly available dataset. A series of logistic regressions were performed to determine the extent that disability affected the likelihood of stress about having enough money for housing and healthy food.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Employed persons with a disability are 1.6 times and 1.9 times as likely as persons without a disability to experience stress about not having enough money to pay for housing and healthy food, respectively. Persons not employed with a disability are 1.56 times and 1.83 times as likely to experience stress about not having enough money to pay for housing and healthy food, respectively. For persons with a disability, being female, in poor health, without a health plan and having a lower income were also significant. Education and employment were not significant predictors of experiencing stress regarding money for food or housing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Having a disability is more predictive of experiencing stress about having enough money for housing and healthy food than employment, though variables such as low income and having a health plan, dependent on employment are significant. Therefore, strategies and policy recommendations to reduce stress by increasing employment and income for persons with disabilities were presented.
authors: Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. smithdiane@health.missouri.edu
authors: Diane L
authors: DL
authors: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D004651:Employment / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000191:economics; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult