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The great efficacy of personal and equipment assistance in reducing disability

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  • Verbrugge, L.M.
  • Rennert, C.
  • Madans, J.H.

Abstract

Objectives. Personal and equipment assistance are common strategies to reduce disability. This study sought to determine how often assistance reduces or even completely resolves health-related difficulties in everyday tasks. Methods. Data are from the NHANES 1 Epidemiologic Followup Study. Adults aged 35 to 90 reported difficulty doing 12 everyday tasks on their own without assistance. Those stating that they had much difficulty or were unable were asked if they had personal assistance and/or equipment assistance, and their degree of difficulty with assistance. Use and efficacy of assistance are studied by gender, age, intrinsic (unassisted) degree of difficulty, and type of assistance. Results. Most people use assistance for the 12 tasks; 'personal assistance only' is the principal type used for upper-extremity and body transfer tasks; 'equipment only' ranks first for lower-extremity tasks. Assistance reduces difficulty for the great majority of persons (75% to 85%) and completely resolves difficulty for about 25%. Equipment only proves to be the most efficacious strategy for reducing and resolving limitations. Conclusions. Equipment's success may be due to greater perceived gains when people accomplish the assistance by themselves.

Suggested Citation

  • Verbrugge, L.M. & Rennert, C. & Madans, J.H., 1997. "The great efficacy of personal and equipment assistance in reducing disability," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 87(3), pages 384-392.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1997:87:3:384-392_4
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    Cited by:

    1. Emmanuelle Cambois & Géraldine Duthé & Abdramane Bassiahi Soura & Yacouba Compaoré, 2019. "The Patterns of Disability in the Peripheral Neighborhoods of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and the Male–Female Health‐Survival Paradox," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 45(4), pages 835-863, December.
    2. Davin, Bérengère & Paraponaris, Alain & Verger, Pierre, 2009. "Socioeconomic determinants of the need for personal assistance reported by community-dwelling elderly: Empirical evidence from a French national health survey," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 138-146, January.
    3. Emmanuelle Cambois & Caroline Laborde & Isabelle Romieu & Jean-Marie Robine, 2011. "Occupational inequalities in health expectancies in France in the early 2000s: Unequal chances of reaching and living retirement in good health," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(12), pages 407-436.
    4. Paul Montgomery & Evan Mayo‐Wilson & Jane Dennis, 2008. "Personal Assistance for Older Adults (65+) Without Dementia," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(1), pages 1-52.
    5. Evan Mayo‐Wilson & Paul Montgomery & Jane Dennis, 2008. "Personal Assistance for Adults (19‐64) with Physical Impairments," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(1), pages 1-36.

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