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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Roberta Carlin, JD¹, Anthony Cahill, PhD², Wendy Barrington, MPH³, and Heidi Freline, MPH³. (1) American Association on Health and Disability, 110 N. Washington Street, Suite 340A, Rockville, MD 20850, 301-545-6140 x206, rcarlin@aahd.us, (2) University of New Mexico, Center for Development and Disability, 2300 Menaul Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107, (3) Center for Development and Disability, University of New Mexico, 2300 Menaul Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico,USA, NM 20850

In May, 2004, the Office on Disability inaugurated its National Initiative on Physical Fitness for Children and Youth with Disabilities. In cooperation with the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and working with more than 70 national organizations dedicated to programs and services for children with disabilities, the Office on Disability inaugurated its National Initiative on Physical Fitness for Children and Youth with Disabilities.

The goal of the initiative is to attain physical fitness in children with disabilities by encouraging increased physical activity and better nutritional behaviors. The I Can Do It You Can Do It initiative intends to reach an estimated 6 million children with disabilities who can benefit from this national program. This is not a peer mentoring program, but utilizes a mentoring model successful in the non disabled population.

The outcomes of the initiative will be on behavior change with the goal of making healthier nutritional choices, maintaining increased physical activity levels, improving health status resulting in decreased secondary conditions and increased socialization.

The federal partners for this initiative are the Office on Disability, President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Division of Nutrition Research Coordination at NIH. Ten organizations from the private/ public sector will be involved in the piloting of this program during the first quarter of 2006.

Analysis of data from the first pilot study, n=40 and the second implementation study, n=100 will be available by the APHA meeting in November.

Learning Objectives: After atttending this session, attendees will be able to

• Recognize the value of a national mentor/mentee program to achieve increased physical activity and nutritional awareness in children and youth with disabilties
• Discuss the two primary behavorial outcomes of the I Can Do It You Can Do It initiative
• Articulate the results of the data collected from the first national pilot field study n=40 and follow up implementation study n=100
• Recognize the across the spectrum challenges and opportunities in developing a health promotion mentor/mentee intervention specifically for children with disabilities

Keywords: Physical Activity, Nutrition

Related Web page: icandoit-aahd.health.unm.edu

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered