Springfield [Massachusetts] Study of Populations with Disabilities, 1993-1997

This two-wave longitudinal survey of persons with disabilities in Springfield, Massachusetts, had four research objectives: (1) to determine levels of formal and informal service use among people with disabilities in Springfield, (2) to determine the prevalence and consequences of unmet needs for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), (3) to test the hypothesis that residents reporting unmet needs for assistance with daily living activities at baseline would have higher levels of emergency room use and hospitalization over the follow-up period than respondents not reporting such needs, and (4) to assess respondents' satisfaction with access to and quality of their health care and health care providers. Conducted in 1993-1994 and 1996-1997, the survey gathered information on health, health service utilization, satisfaction with health services, assistance with ADLs (eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, transferring in and out of bed/chair, and moving around indoors) and IADLs (preparing meals, shopping for groceries and household supplies, housekeeping, transportation, and financial management), social and physical activity, social support, health care coverage, and sociodemographic characteristics such as income, year of birth, marital status, race, Hispanic origin, religion, education, and employment.