Contact Information: Contact: Sandy Muller Office: 720-407-6530 smuller@disaboom.com
91% of People With Disabilities Believe They Don't Have a Political Voice, Urge Candidates to Address Top Disability Issues
Disaboom Poll Reveals Top Political Issues People With Disabilities Want to See Addressed by Presidential Candidates as Healthcare, Unemployment and Community Support
| Source: Disaboom
DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - August 31, 2008) - 91 percent of people with disabilities believe
they receive less attention than other minority groups from the
presidential candidates, according to a recent poll conducted by Disaboom
(OTCBB : DSBO ) (www.disaboom.com), the premier online community for people
with disabilities. In a follow-up poll, conducted by Disaboom to gain an
understanding of the key political issues of importance to people with
disabilities, respondents identified healthcare, unemployment and community
support as the key issues they'd like to see addressed by the candidates in
the 2008 election.
"People with disabilities represent the largest minority group in the U.S.
Yet most members of this community feel that the issues of importance to
them receive little attention from the presidential candidates and from the
political system as a whole," said Dr. Glen House, founder of Disaboom and
a quadriplegic himself. "Disaboom's polls show that this community is
eager to be included in the political dialogue in the 2008 election."
Disaboom's most recent poll asked respondents to identify, from a list of
nine political issues, their choice of the top issue facing people with
disabilities in this election.
1. 44 percent of respondents identified healthcare as the top issue facing
people with disabilities in this election. A 2003 national survey by
National Center for Health Statistics found that 46 percent of non-elderly
adults with disabilities go without equipment and other medical needs due
to associated costs. Additionally, 37 percent of people with disabilities
postpone healthcare, and 36 percent skip doses or split pills due to
medication costs.
2. 18 percent identified unemployment rate as the top issue. According to
the U.S. Department of Labor, 44 percent of people with a disability are
unemployed, while the unemployment rate for those without a disability is
12 percent.
3. 10 percent identified community support as the top issue. Today, more
than 53,000 individuals with developmental disabilities are on waiting
lists to qualify for in-home community-based attendant care, rather than
being placed in a nursing home.
Other issues of importance to people with disabilities identified by poll
respondents include housing, accessible transportation, gas prices, the
wars in Iraq and Afganistan, education and veterans' issues.
This announcement follows Disaboom's recent findings that 57 percent of
people with disabilities support Barack Obama and 37 percent of people with
disabilities support John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.
For more information about the political issues of interest to people with
disabilities, visit Disaboom's 2008 Election coverage at
http://www.disaboom.com/Living/Election08/Default.aspx. To view coverage
of the Democratic National Convention and follow live coverage of the
Republican National Convention from the perspective of the disability
community, visit Disaboom's political blog, "Disabled Politico" at
www.disaboom.com/disabledpolitico.
About Disaboom
Disaboom.com is an interactive online community that combines lifestyle and
medical information, discussion boards, a career center and social
networking opportunities for those with disabilities as well as their
family, friends, caregivers and health providers. It was founded by Dr. J.
Glen House, a physician specializing in physical medicine and
rehabilitation who is also quadriplegic. His firsthand knowledge of the
challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and those whose lives
they touch has driven the Disaboom mission: to create a comprehensive,
evolving source of information, inspiration, insight, and personal
engagement for the disability community.
About the Disaboom Polls
The Disaboom polls were conducted by disaboom.com using Vizu.com polling
technology between July 31, 2008 and August 28, 2008 using surveys posted
at http://www.disaboom.com/Community/Organizations/Polls. Poll results are
based on the responses of 700 respondents. Poll technology ensured that
each respondent was limited to voting once.