Building Disability Inclusion in CHAs and CHIPs

Building Disability Inclusion in Community Health Assessments and Community Health Improvement Plans

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Haleigh Leslie

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Sep 2025

In the US, people with disabilities experience a variety of health disparities. The percentage of the population living with disabilities is expected to increase in part due to our aging population. People with disabilities live, work, and play in every community across the country and building disability inclusion into our communities can benefit everyone regardless of your disability status. An important part of our work in public health is understanding and addressing the health needs and challenges of the communities we serve, which can include community health assessments (CHAs) and community health improvement plans (CHIPs). The goal of our project entitled “Disability Inclusion in Local Public Health Community Health Assessments and Community Health Improvement Plan,” was to quantify and describe disability inclusion in CHAs and CHIPs to establish a baseline understanding of how disability is currently included.

What we did

We reviewed CHAs and CHIPs from Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB)- accredited local health departments from across the entire US for different characteristics of disability inclusion. These characteristics included having a disability partner on the steering committee, how disability-related terms were used to describe people with disabilities and their health, and CHIP goals, objectives, or activities that specifically included people with disabilities.

What we found

Less than two-thirds of CHAs included demographics of people with disabilities.
Less than 50% of CHAs explicitly stated that people with disabilities experience health disparities.
Less than 25% of CHIPs included a goal, objective, or activity that specifically addressed the health needs of people with disabilities.
Having a mixed group of community partners was associated with having a greater odds of including people with disabilities in a CHIP goal, objective, or activity.
Additionally, having a disability partner on the steering committee was positively associated with including people with disabilities in a CHIP goal, objective, or activity.

Why this is important to public health

To address health disparities in the communities we serve our CHAs and CHIPs need to include the health needs and challenges experienced by people with disabilities. Our CHA and CHIP processes should include disability representation to inform and advocate for the diverse health needs experienced by people with disabilities. By addressing the health disparities experienced by people with disabilities we have the potential to better address the health needs of people across our communities.

Next Steps

Building Disability Inclusion in Community Health Assessments and Community Health Improvement Plans

Read the Article in JPHMP

To learn more, read our article, “Disability Inclusion in Local Public Health Community Health Assessments and Community Health Improvement Plan,” in the September 2025 issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. Our article not only includes findings from our project but additional information and resources on how to build disability inclusion into your CHA and CHIP process.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge my co-authors at East Tennessee State University and Special Olympics International for their work and guidance on this project: Kate Beatty, PhD, MPH; Dawn Rowe, PhD, MAT; Thomas Quade, MA, MPH, CPH; Kailee Havrda, MPH; and Casey Balio, PhD.

About the Author

Haleigh Leslie: Haleigh Leslie, DrPH, MPH, MBA, recently graduated from the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health in Health Services Management and Policy. Leslie’s research interests include rural and disability health.