Racial/ethnic inequalities in the indoor home environment among households with people with disabilities

The indoor home environment (IHE) is an important determinant of health. However, there is limited information about variation in the IHE by race/ethnicity among the population with disabilities.

This study summarizes the IHE among households with any person with a disability (HWDs) and describes differences by race/ethnicity. The study evaluates whether these racial/ethnic differences are accounted for by demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic characteristics.

Using a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey, descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine racial/ethnic differences across eight inadequate conditions of the IHE and the total number of inadequate conditions of the IHE.

Some IHE conditions are common, such as low indoor air quality. Large racial/ethnic differences in exposure persist, net of controls. Black, Hispanic, and Mixed Race/Ethnicity HWDs have greater exposure to low indoor temperatures, injury hazards, and lead than White HWDs. Black and Hispanic HWDs reside in dwellings with lower indoor air quality and pests/allergens than White HWDs. Mixed Race/Ethnicity HWDs are the only racial/ethnic minority group with greater barriers to water and sanitation than White HWDs. Asian households have comparable exposure to White households for all IHE conditions. Black, Hispanic, and Mixed Race/Ethnicity HWDs have about 23%, 17%, and 15% more inadequate conditions of the IHE than White HWDs, net of controls.

There is heterogeneity in exposure to inadequate conditions of the IHE, with Black, Hispanic, and Mixed Race/Ethnicity HWDs at a disadvantage compared to their White counterparts. It is critical to examine racial/ethnic variation when studying health inequalities in the IHE among HWDs.