Title:

Mental Health in Adults with Disabilities: A Needs Assessment

Adults with disabilities in New Hampshire experience significantly higher rates of poor mental health compared to adults without disabilities, highlighting the need to better understand contributing factors to positive mental health. This study used a 16-item survey grounded in a multidimensional framework of mental health, examining environmental, social, and access-related factors among adults with disabilities or their caregivers (n = 57). Results suggest that most respondents reported access to mental health services, some level of community inclusion, and regular social participation, despite high rates of non-driving and reliance on informal transportation supports. However, open-ended responses identified ongoing barriers including cost, insurance limitations, transportation challenges, and limited provider understanding of disability. Overall, findings indicate that while basic access may be present for many individuals, lived experiences of mental health support are still shaped by structural and social barriers. Further research should include more diverse recruitment strategies to better capture unmet needs within the disability community.

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