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CHAPTER 7
MEDICAL PROBLEMS
Medical problems were examined by assessing the percent of the sample that reported significant medical problems, comparing the health status of the sample to that of the U.S. population, and rating of need for current medical care. Figure 7.A presents findings of the prevalence of current medical conditions that might present a barrier to employability. A substantial minority (45%) of the substance abuse sample reported having a chronic medical condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or asthma. A smaller percentage indicated that a medical problem limited (16%) or prevented them from working (11%). The non-affected sample reported having somewhat fewer medical problems. About 13% reported health problems that limited ability to work and 6% reported not being able to work because of a medical problem. The substance abuse sample reported a significantly higher percentage with a sexually transmitted disorder than the non-affected sample, with 11% reporting being seropositive for HIV.
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Figure 7.B presents data on participant's health status as compared to United States norms. About 26% of the substance abuse sample and 20% of the non-affected sample reported being in the lowest quartile on physical health status. Scoring in the lowest quartile is an indicator of poor health and had been used to classify recipients as having a physical health barrier in prior welfare studies (Brown, 2001).
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Figures 7.C reports current need for medical treatment. About 17% of the substance abuse sample were rated as requiring current treatment for a medical problem. Significantly fewer participants (<2%) from the non-affected sample were rated as requiring medical care.
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Overall, about two in five women in the substance abuse sample reported chronic medical problems and about 16% indicated these problems would limit their ability to work or require current medical care. Women in the non-affected sample reported significantly fewer co-occurring medical problems. It should be noted that women who were medically deferred from a work activity were excluded from both samples.
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