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What is the issue?

HCARDD group shot in front of a yellow brick wallPrevious work from H-CARDD has shown that Ontario adults with developmental disabilities have poorer physical and mental health and use more health care services than other adults.  Specific subgroups, such as younger or older adults, or adults with additional mental health or addiction issues, have unique health concerns. However, our work to date has tended to operate in silos. This means that we don’t often look at patterns across groups and health outcomes, and therefore solutions cannot be integrated across perspectives and settings.
  

How is H-CARDD helping?

This project takes an integrated, cross-sectoral approach to study five concerning health and health care outcomes:

  • 30-day repeat emergency department visits
  • 30-day repeat hospitalizations
  • alternative level of care days in hospital
  • long-term care stays
  • premature mortality 

We followed a cohort of nearly 65,000 Ontarian adults with developmental disabilities, who were between 19 and 65 years of age in 2010, for a six-year period between April 2010 and March 2016. We compared this cohort to a group of adults without developmental disabilities and examined these outcomes by age, sex and neighbourhood income, as well as by the type of developmental disability they had.

Graphic comparing health outcomes between adults with and without developmental disabilities

Our main finding is that adults with developmental disabilities were disadvantaged for every outcome examined compared to adults without developmental disabilities. The report below illustrates these health care patterns by different subgroups and by Ontario region.  With these results in hand, H-CARDD will continue to work together with scientists, clinicians, advocates and policy-makers to design and implement integrated solutions that can bridge silos of care between hospital and community, and between various sectors supporting this population.

Addressing Gaps in the Health Care Services Used by Adults with Developmental Disabilities in OntarioDownload the report Addressing Gaps in the Health Care Services Used by Adults with Developmental Disabilities in Ontario or download a summary in English or in French .

Do you have any questions, thoughts or comments on the report? We would love to hear from you. Please use the comment button to submit your comments or email us at hcardd@camh.ca.

For more information, please contact:

Elizabeth Lin, PhD
Independent Scientist, DELTA (Data Evaluation, Leadership and Transformational Analyses), Provincial System Support Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Phone: 416 535 8501 x 34102
Email: ElizabethBetty.Lin@camh.ca

Robert Balogh, PhD
Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Phone: 905 721 8668 x 2602
Email: robert.balogh@uoit.ca.

H-CARDD Connects newsletter

Read the March 2025 issue of H-CARDD Connects.

Sign up for H-CARDD Connects to receive updates on research findings, resources and health care tools.

Azrieli Centre - Yona Lunsky talking to a colleague on BGB stairsThe Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre

The Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre is the first research and education centre in Canada dedicated to improving care for adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities and mental health challenges.  The centre includes several scientists who work closely with trainees, patient and family advisors to study and develop ways to improve the mental health of this population. Scientists at the centre are running several research projects focused on mental health and disability.

Learn more
In H-CARDD Projects

Special Olympics Canada logo

New! Supporting the Health of Special Olympics Canada Athletes 

Supporting ALC Patients With a Dual Diagnosis to Transition From Hospital to Home: Practice Guidance

H-CARDD COVID Program

Health Checks

Atlas on Primary Care

Mental Illness and Addiction Project

Women's Health

Transition-aged Youth

Aging Adults

Emergency Care

Family Health Teams

Health Care Outcomes

The Nuts and Bolts of Health Care

Criminal Justice and Forensic Mental Health Systems

More information

Summary: get a quick overview of this study in the research snapshot Addressing Gaps in the Health Care Services Used by Adults with Developmental Disabilities in Ontario.

Read the summary snapshot Ontario Autistic Adults and Adults with Other Developmental Disabilities are Dying too Soon.  You can also read the easy-read Differences in death: comparing Autistic adults and non-Autistic adults in Ontario, Canada.

Read the snapshot Looking across health and healthcare outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and psychiatric disorders: population-based longitudinal study.

Video: Watch Health Care & Developmental Disabilities: Alex, Rob, and Betty discuss the latest H-CARDD Report.

Publications: for scientific journal publications about H-CARDD research, visit our knowledge exchange section.

May 2022: Premature mortality in a population-based cohort of autistic adults in Canada

Looking across health and healthcare outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and psychiatric disorders: population-based longitudinal study

Emergency department use: Common presenting issues and continuity of care for individuals with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities

All cause 30-day readmission in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and mental illness

Health care tools: H-CARDD shares and develops tools for clinicians, caregivers and people with developmental disabilities that improve communication and information sharing in health care settings. View our health care resources.

The Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Program at Surrey Place has guidelines and practice tools for clinicians caring for patients with developmental disabilities.

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