Important Facts for Activity Limitation

Definition

Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who reported activity limitation.

Numerator

Number of survey respondents who reported activity limitation.

Denominator

Total number of survey respondents excluding those with missing, 'Don't know/Not sure' and 'Refused' responses.

Data Interpretation Issues

Question Text: "Are you limited in any way in any activities because of physical, mental, or emotional problems?" Beginning in 2011, BRFSS data include both landline and cell phone respondent data along with a new weighting methodology called iterative proportional fitting, or raking. This methodology utilizes additional demographic information (such as education, race, and marital status) in the weighting procedure. Both of these methodology changes were implemented to account for an increased number of U.S. households without landline phones and an under-representation of certain demographic groups that were not well-represented in the sample. More details about these changes can be found at: [https://ibis.health.utah.gov/pdf/opha/resource/brfss/RakingImpact2011.pdf]. As with all surveys, some error results from nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions), and measurement (e.g., social desirability or recall bias). Error was minimized by use of strict calling protocols, good questionnaire design, standardization of interviewer behavior, interviewer training, and frequent, on-site interviewer monitoring and supervision.

Why Is This Important?

Persons whose activities are limited due to physical, mental, or emotional problems may need more specialized health care than persons without such limitation. Their medical costs are generally higher and they are more likely to miss days from school or work.

Other Objectives

Activity limitation is one of the Foundational Health Measures for General Health Status for Healthy People 2020.

How Are We Doing?

In 2015, approximately 17.3% (crude rate) of Utah adults reported having some type of activity limitation due to a physical, mental, or emotional problem. This percentage ranged from 10.9% for adults aged 18-34 years to 32.1% for adults aged 65 years and older.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

The age-adjusted percentage of Utah adults who reported any limitation in activities has been slightly lower than the U.S. rate over the years. In 2015, 17.9% (17.1-18.8%) of adults in Utah reported some activity limitation and 19.3% (19.1-19.6%) of adults in the U.S. reported activity limitation.