TY - JOUR
T1 - A randomized trial of a health promotion intervention for adults with disabilities
AU - Horner-Johnson, Willi
AU - Drum, Charles E.
AU - Abdullah, Nasreen
N1 - Funding Information:
During the past 10 years, there has been a significant expansion in the number of health promotion interventions and programs developed with individuals with disabilities as the target group [22] . Health promotion programs for persons with disabilities have been supported by federal agencies such as the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research at the US Department of Education, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and private nonprofit organizations such as United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Special Olympics, and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation [3] . However, this is a relatively new area of emphasis. A recently completed review of health promotion interventions for persons with sensory, mobility, or cognitive disabilities identified 79 intervention studies published between 1986 and 2006 in peer-reviewed journals, with the vast majority of these studies published between 2000 and 2006 [22] . All of the interventions reviewed targeted either a specific diagnostic group (eg, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury) or a single functional category of disability (eg, intellectual, mobility). The majority (70%) of the interventions focused on a single health promotion topic such as physical activity or oral health. Overall, 60% of the studies demonstrated some evidence of effectiveness, as indicated by positive change on at least 1 outcome measure [22] .
Funding Information:
The Healthy Lifestyles curriculum was developed under grant #900N0057 from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (Gloria Krahn, Principal Investigator); evaluated under grant #H133G020231 from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education (Charles E. Drum, Principal Investigator); and has also been implemented through Grant/Cooperative Agreement #U59/CCU010935 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Charles E. Drum, former Principal Investigator, Angela Weaver, current Principal Investigator). Zarina Jackson and Angela Weaver were critically important in the implementation and evaluation of the workshops described in this paper. The authors also thank Independent Living Resources, all of the research participants, the students and fellows who assisted with data management, and Amy Sharer for reference and manuscript formatting.
PY - 2011/10
Y1 - 2011/10
N2 - People with disabilities face a range of health disparities, including increased risk for preventable health problems. Thus, health promotion efforts addressing the reduction of risk factors are especially important for this population. Objective: This study examined changes in health behaviors among adults with disabilities following participation in the Healthy Lifestyles for People with Disabilities health promotion program. It was hypothesized that intervention participants would demonstrate significant increases in healthy behaviors in areas such as health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, stress management, interpersonal relationships, and spiritual growth while controls would not show significant change. Methods: Participants (n 5 95) were randomly assigned to the intervention or to a wait-list. After initially serving as controls, wait-list members later received the intervention as well. A measure of health behaviors was completed at baseline, 4 months, 7 months, and 10 months. Results: Health behavior scores of immediate intervention participants increased significantly (p <.001) while the scores of wait-list members showed no significant change. After subsequently attending a Healthy Lifestyles workshop, scores of wait-list participants also increased significantly (p 5 .001). Conclusions: The Healthy Lifestyles intervention appears to be successful in helping adults with disabilities increase healthy behaviors.
AB - People with disabilities face a range of health disparities, including increased risk for preventable health problems. Thus, health promotion efforts addressing the reduction of risk factors are especially important for this population. Objective: This study examined changes in health behaviors among adults with disabilities following participation in the Healthy Lifestyles for People with Disabilities health promotion program. It was hypothesized that intervention participants would demonstrate significant increases in healthy behaviors in areas such as health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, stress management, interpersonal relationships, and spiritual growth while controls would not show significant change. Methods: Participants (n 5 95) were randomly assigned to the intervention or to a wait-list. After initially serving as controls, wait-list members later received the intervention as well. A measure of health behaviors was completed at baseline, 4 months, 7 months, and 10 months. Results: Health behavior scores of immediate intervention participants increased significantly (p <.001) while the scores of wait-list members showed no significant change. After subsequently attending a Healthy Lifestyles workshop, scores of wait-list participants also increased significantly (p 5 .001). Conclusions: The Healthy Lifestyles intervention appears to be successful in helping adults with disabilities increase healthy behaviors.
KW - Disabled persons
KW - Health behavior
KW - Intervention studies
KW - Randomized controlled trial
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=83455266608&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=83455266608&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.dhjo.2011.06.003
DO - 10.1016/j.dhjo.2011.06.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 22014673
AN - SCOPUS:83455266608
VL - 4
SP - 254
EP - 261
JO - Disability and Health Journal
JF - Disability and Health Journal
SN - 1936-6574
IS - 4
ER -