Development of two web based instruments for use in assessing the influence of community based interventions on participation

Two web based measures were developed for use in assessing the level of community participation and the receptivity of communities for people with motor and sensory impairments. The PARTS-G is a web based subjective measure of general activities engaged in by people with impairments. The PARTS-G used many of the items included in an instrument that was limited to people with mobility impairments (PART/M). This survey uses a series of questions for each activity that extends beyond the frequency of doing activities to evaluations, impairments that restrict participation and the resources needed to engage in the activities. A second instrument, Survey of Participation and Receptivity in Communities (SPARC) was developed to measure the individual's frequency and evaluation of their participation, including their perspective of how people at specific community sites they visit respond to them. The development process involved key informant interviews, focus groups, feasibility studies and reliability testing. The testing was conducted nation-wide with 1600 individuals completing the surveys once and 960 filling out the surveys twice. One half of the surveys were completed by people served by independent living centers, while the rest were completed by people who responded to local and national web sites that focus on people with disabilities. These surveys are being used by a large independent living center to measure a variety of programs, including consumer directed personal assistant services, assistive technology use, employment and services for people who are hard of hearing. Findings of several outcome studies will be presented.