Monika Mitra and Lauren Smith on Conducting a Health Needs Assessment of People with Disabilities

Blog post to AEA365, a blog sponsored by the American Evaluation Association (AEA) dedicated to highlighting Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources, and Lessons Learned for evaluators. The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness

Civic Engagement and People with Disabilities: A Way Forward Through Cross-Movement Building

This report presents a national overview of the barriers to civic engagement that disabled people experience. Drawing on our findings from surveys, a Twitter chat, and interviews, we offer recommendations for the philanthropic sector and for civic engagement organizations aspiring to create a more inclusive and responsive democracy to build civic power among people with disabilities. Civic power in this report is conceptualized as opportunities for people with disabilities to amplify, mobilize, and elevate their voices and infuence within democracy.This report centers the expertise, insights and lived experiences of people with disabilities, including leaders from various disability communities. Our findings reaffirm that no disability rights issue exists outside the sphere of civic engagement and no meaningful civic engagement strategy can emerge without attention to disability rights. Supported by the Ford Foundation's Civic Engagement and Government (CEG) program, this report is a collaboration between the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy and the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy, both based at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy. The disability rights mantra "nothing about us, without us" informs the questions, methods and content in this report. We hope the findings and recommendations will inspire new thinking and action within philanthropy and civic engagement spaces, and spark courageous conversations and inform practices within the vital organizations working to strengthen democracy in the United States.

Economic Wellbeing and Life Satisfaction Among Working and Non-Working Adults with Disabilities

Working-age adults with disabilities in the US are more than twice as likely to live in poverty as those without disabilities; poverty rates are greater among non-working people with disabilities compared to those who work. Poverty-associated stress compounds the challenges faced daily by people living with disability. We examined satisfaction with finances, worries about meeting monthly expenses, and overall life satisfaction among working and non-working adults with disabilities using a 2010 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS) follow-up survey of working-age adults with disabilities (n=882). The MA BRFSS Disability and Employment Follow-Up Survey gathered information on work participation, work-related barriers and multiple dimensions of economic wellbeing among people with disabilities. Thirty-seven percent of survey respondents with disabilities reported currently working. Logistic regression analyses showed that, controlling for demographic variables (age, gender, race/ethnicity, marital status and education), health status, need for personal or routine care, and insurance status, working respondents were significantly more likely to report satisfaction with finances (OR=1.99, 95% CI=1.07-3.72) and significantly less likely to report being worried about meeting expenses (OR=0.37, 95% CI=0.19-0.68) than non-working respondents. Having private vs. public insurance was also significantly associated with satisfaction with finances; poorer health and the need for personal or routine care were significantly associated with worrying about meeting expenses. Employment was not significantly related to overall life satisfaction. Employment contributes to enhanced economic well-being and decreased financial worries among people with disabilities. Implications of finding for services for people with disabilities will be discussed. Presented at the American Public Health Association (APHA) 141st Annual Meeting and Exposition

Parents With and Without Disabilities: Demographics, Material Hardship, and Program Participation

To compare demographics, material hardship, and public benefit program participation among parents with and without disabilities, we analyzed data from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation. Households led by parents with disabilities were significantly more likely to experience hardships despite also being more likely to receive public benefits

The Americans with Disabilities Act and Termination of Parental Rights Cases: An Examination of Appellate Decisions Involving Disabled Mothers

The right to parent has long been regarded as one of our most treasured fundamental rights. Despite the disability rights movement’s many achievements, especially the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) in 1990, the right to parenthood remains inaccessible to many people with disabilities. Scholars and advocates have posited that the ADA has not adequately protected the rights of parents with disabilities involved with the child welfare system, particularly at the termination of parental rights phase. This Article develops this critique as applied to an original empirical study of 2,064 appellate termination of parental rights decisions adjudicated between 2006 and 2016 that involved mothers with disabilities. This is the first study to conduct quantitative analyses to identify factors that predict whether the ADA is raised or applied in these cases. In particular, we aimed to understand if a mother’s disability type predicts whether courts raise or apply the ADA

Terminating the Parental Rights of Mothers with Disabilities: An Empirical Legal Analysis

A sizable body of scholarship indicates parents with disabilities – including physical, intellectual, psychiatric, and sensory disabilities – experience pervasive inequities that threaten their fundamental right to parenthood. In particular, compared to nondisabled parents, parents with disabilities are overrepresented in the child welfare system, receive inadequate family preservation and reunification services, and have disproportionate rates of termination of parental rights. Despite extensive legal and social science scholarship, however, there are no empirical analyses of judicial opinions to identify factors that predict termination of parental rights in cases involving parents with disabilities

Health Needs Assessment of People with Disabilities in Massachusetts, 2013

The Disability, Health and Employment Policy Unit at UMass Medical School conducted an assessment of the health needs of people with disabilities on behalf of the Health and Disability Program (HDP), Office of Health Equity, Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The assessment was conducted to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding requirements of the Health and Disability Program and provided an in-depth examination of the health needs of people with disabilities in Massachusetts. This assessment provides comprehensive information on the unmet public health needs and priorities of the disability community in Massachusetts to enable HDP to prioritize its programmatic goals and objectives and better understand and meet the needs of Massachusetts residents with disabilities. A multi-prong approach was used to collect data for this needs assessment. The sources of data include: (1) an existing health survey of adults in Massachusetts, (2) an online community survey of the health needs of people with disabilities in Massachusetts, and (3) interviews with key informants from the Massachusetts disability community

Measurements of carbonaceous aerosols at urban and remote marine sites

Concentrations of total carbon (TC) and black carbon (BC) in ambient air at Delhi (urban site) and over Indian Ocean (remote marine) were determined as a part of INDOEX programme. Over Indian Ocean, the TC and BC concentrations varied from 1.81 to 10.05 μg/m3 and 0.13 to 1.36 μg/m3 respectively during FFP-98. During the same season at Delhi, the TC and BC ranged from 7.50 to 40.27 μg/m3 and 0.49 to 2.84 μg/m3 respectively. In addition, at Delhi, the TC and BC concentrations were noticed very low during the monsoon season. However, the percentage BC during monsoon season was very high compared to winter season. High concentrations of TC were observed due to high organic carbon (OC) which might be due to biomass burning of various kinds. Similar to Delhi, near Indian coast, the concentration of OC was very high while towards ITCZ and across ITCZ, OC content was relatively lower

Clinician Perspectives on the Need for Training and Caring for Pregnant Women with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [poster]

Background: Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience disparities in obstetric care access and quality, in addition to communication gaps with healthcare providers. Many obstetric providers are untrained and uneducated about critical aspects of providing care to persons with IDD. Objectives: The present study was conducted (1) to describe obstetric clinicians’ training experiences related to providing obstetric care to women with IDD, (2) to assess obstetric clinicians’ perceived need for formalized training, and (3) to identify recommendations for training content and dissemination. Methods: This study involved qualitative individual interviews (n=9) and one focus group (n=8) with obstetric clinicians who self-reported experience caring for women with IDD during pregnancy. Descriptive coding and content analysis techniques were used to develop an iterative codebook related to education and training; codes were applied to the data. Coded data were analyzed for larger themes and relationships. Results: Analysis revealed three main themes: 1. Need for obstetric training and education: No participant reported receiving any training in caring for pregnant women with IDD. Participants expressed a need for formal education. 2. Recommendations for formal training: Participants noted a dearth of clinical practice guidelines, the need for pregnancy-specific training during residency and beyond, and all healthcare staff should be included in training opportunities. 3. Training outcomes should increase knowledge, enhance attitudes, and develop practical skills related to communication and care for pregnant women with IDD. Conclusion: Study results indicate a need for and interest in systematic training efforts regarding obstetric care for women with IDD. Improved training and education may decrease health inequities and improve the quality of obstetric care, and thus pregnancy outcomes, for women with IDD