Wellness Club: A health promotion program to improve the health and wellness of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) living in supported environments

Interest in health and wellness of people with disabilities has accelerated. From a public health perspective, estimated medical costs of disability are as high as $79.3 billion annually (Berkowitz & Green, 1989). A major contributor to costs is secondary conditions (Seekins et al., 1990). Health education and health promotion are methods to decrease consequences of secondary conditions, and reduce utilization and cost of medical services. Yet, few health promotion programs for this population have been tested.

The Wellness Club (WC) is a program that engages consumers with I/DD in managing their own health to prevent secondary conditions and maximize abilities. The WC was delivered in context of the residence with staff support. Consumers worked on one or more wellness objectives, and participated in structured club activities. Staff and consumers completed global screens of health risk, quality of life, and limitations from secondary conditions. Based on global results, staff and consumers developed wellness goals for their Individual Plan. Specific assessments, measuring pre-intervention status of target conditions, were used to develop behavioral objectives; staff assisted participants in engaging in these activities.

The WC was tested in community service organizations in Montana and Kansas with 15 and 10 consumers respectively (7 males, 18 females, 25 to 73 years). Results indicate that consumers met 42.8% of all weekly goals. Goal achievement varied according to target (fitness 39.7%, oral hygiene 43%, nutrition and personal care 95%) and organizational structure (39.7% in supported/group living, 69.4% in family homes). Factors that influenced goal attainment will be discussed.