Can You Hear Me Now?
Listening to People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Health Research
The Ohio State University Nisonger Center in partnership with key stakeholders will, through this five-year project, establish a rehabilitation research and training center on health and function for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
The goal of this center is to conduct systematic research that contributes to improving the long term health and function outcomes and health related quality of life for adults with IDD.
The research objectives are to 1) develop and test cognitively accessible self-report measures of health, health-related quality of life, and behavioral health; 2) establish the prevalence of behavioral health conditions among adults with IDD; 3) understand the health and health-related quality of life of adults with IDD and co-occurring behavioral health conditions; and 4) generate guidelines for providing high quality behavioral health care to adults with IDD.
The Nisonger RRTC will serve as a national resource center on the health and function of people with IDD for people with disabilities, their families, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders. The center will conduct research, training, dissemination, and knowledge translation activities in collaboration with adults with IDD and other key stakeholders.
Participatory action research and person-centered strategies will support the inclusion of adults with IDD in research, training, and dissemination of the RRTC.
Anticipated outcomes include: 1) adults with IDD will be better able to speak for themselves in health research 2) better understanding of the prevalence, health outcomes, and health-related quality of life of people with IDD and co-occurring behavioral health concerns; 3) guidelines on providing quality behavioral healthcare; and 4) the IDD field will have the information and support to improve health outcomes for adults with IDD.
The expected products are peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and training webinars.