The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #47254

David B. Gray, PhD¹, Kerri Morgan, MS OTR/L¹, Dana Sutter, MS OTR/L¹, Kathleen Deery, PhD², and Elaine Jurkowski, PhD³. (1) Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University, Campus Box 8505, 4444 Forest Park Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108, 314-286-1658, grayda@msnotes.wustl.edu, (2) Social Work, University of Wisconsin Stout, N 46680 470th St, Menomonie, WI 54751, (3) School of Social Work, Southern Illinois University, Quigley 4, M/C 4329, Carbondale, IL 62901

This presentation will describe progress on a three-year project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Disability and Health designed to develop a community measurement system to assist people with mobility limitations and community leaders in assessing the accessibility of that portion of the community of most interest to those with mobility limitations. The protocol has three parts. Part one surveys mobility limited members of the community for their subjective appraisal of their participation in major life activities, their access to community sites, and their perceptions of the attitudes of persons in their community towards people with disabilities. The second tool is the Community Health Environment Checklist (CHEC), which provides measures for assessing accessibility attributes of a variety of sites including places of worship, stores, restaurants, government offices, health care facilities, and entertainment sites. The third part is the Community Resource Index (CRI) that will provide information about the types and accessibility of resources and services in a community. The CRI provides a framework for describing the present or absence of resources and services which have importance to lives of people with mobility limitations. Much of the information needed to develop a CRI for communities can be accessed through Internet sites (US Census reports) or is available locally. Knowing the quantity, location, eligibility criteria for services, and cost for services will provide an opportunity to compare the relative density of accessible sites and service facilities in different communities.

Learning Objectives:

• Appreciate the value of an objective measurement system for assessing the environment of relevance to people with mobility limitations.
• Understand each component of the community accessibility protocol.
• Describe features which contribute to the community resource index.
• List steps in developing a community resource index and sources for gathering information for different communities.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.