The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #69609

Elaine Jurkowski, PhD¹, Kathleen Deery, PhD², Hiroko Arikawa, PhD³, Kerri Morgan, MS OTR/L⁴, and David B. Gray, PhD⁴. (1) School of Social Work, Southern Illinois University, Quigley 4, M/C 4329, Carbondale, IL 62901, (618) 453-2243, etjurkow@siu.edu, (2) Social Work, University of Wisconsin Stout, N 46680 470th St, Menomonie, WI 54751, (3) Disability Support Services, Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, 2885 W. Battlefield Rd, Springfield, MO 65807-3952, (4) Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University, Campus Box 8505, 4444 Forest Park Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108-2292

The assessment measures, designed to develop a community measurement system within a community setting have been applied to four different sized communities: 1) University City, MO (a small section of metropolitan St. Louis), 2) Menomonie, WI, 3) Carbondale IL, and 4) Sprinfield, MO in an effort to determine their generalizability and application to distinctly different geographic settings. The application to rural settings also was undertaken in an effort to assess and benchmark a community’s progress towards the HP2010 goals. The assessment measures, including the Community Resource Index (CRI) and the Community Health Environmental Checklist (CHEC) can also be used by rural planning bodies and consumers with mobility limitations to assess the community for its receptivity and ability to meet the integration needs of people with mobility limitations. Preliminary findings suggest that there are facilitators and barriers which may result from factors related to the attitude and environment in rural settings. The presenters will discuss the process of assessment, findings, application and recommendations for next steps for which these tools can be useful in shaping accessible environments and providing useful data to local public health and city planning authorities.

Learning Objectives:

• Appreciate the value of an objective measurement system for assessing the environment of relevance to people with mobility limitations in different sized communities.
• Describe features which contribute to the community resource index as it applies to a rural setting.
• List steps in developing a community resource index and sources for gathering information from a rural community.
• Identify impacts of this assessment system for public health and community planning.

Keywords: Disability, Assessments

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.