Melinda T. Neri, BA¹, Thilo Kroll, PhD¹, Gwyn C. Jones, PhD¹, Marcie Goldstein², and Sally Michael, BA². (1) Center for Health and Disability Research, National Rehabilitation Hospital, 1016 - 16th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036-5750, 202-466-0092, melinda.t.neri@medstar.net, (2) EnDependence Center of Northern Virginia, 3100 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201

Background: Adults with physical disabilities use primary prevention services at rates well below national recommendations. The promotion of primary preventive service utilization among people with physical disabilities and their health care providers require innovative participatory strategies to reduce the incidence of costly secondary conditions. Methods: This study uses different Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) strategies to maximize consumer participation, including a consumer Steering Committee, regional web pollling, and focus group interviews to develop primary prevention resource materials for consumers with physical disabilities and their health care professionals. Results: Consumer involvement facilitated 1) the identification of barriers to accessing primary preventive health care services; 2) the development of consumer-defined strategies to obtain preventive services; and 3) the utility and user-friendliness of primary prvention materials. Conclusions: The use of CBPAR enables consumers with physical disabilities to be involved in the research and development of health promotion tools such as Preventive Services Resource Kits. The participatory nature of this research helps to ensure optimal relevance and comprehension of materials by consumers with physical disabilities, empowering them to take an active role in health promotion, and ultimately increasing their utilization of preventive health care services.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. To illustrate the relevance of CBPAR strategies in the area of health promotion for people with physical disabilities.
• 2. To introduce different CBPAR methods and strategies.
• 3. To determine the content of Preventive Services Resource Kits from a consumer-defined perspective.

Keywords: Disability, Participatory Action Research

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.