RTC6: RAVESLOOT: RTC on Disability in Rural Communities
| MT-University of Montana Rural Institute, UCEDD | |||
| Program Type | UCEDD | Fiscal Year | 2020 |
| Contact | Craig Ravesloot, PhD | ||
| [email protected] | |||
| Phone | 406-243-2992 | ||
| Project Description | |||
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Over 56 million Americans live in rural areas; some because they have always lived there; others because they moved there for opportunity, for beauty, or to escape urban stress. Nearly 20% of them live with a disability. While rural America is their home, living there can place them at a disadvantage. Compared to their urban counterparts, rural Americans with disabilities experience higher rates of poverty, higher unemployment, and poorer health. Despite adoption of the ecological paradigm of disability, most disability and rehabilitation researchers still uses individual approaches to achieve the community-level outcomes. This creates a mismatch of problem-solving methods; a gap that needs to be filled. To fill that gap, we engaged a wide range of key stakeholders in developing an ecological research and knowledge translation framework to address issues of importance to people with disabilities living in rural America. First, we propose to apply the methods of geographic science to understand the broad context of disability in rural America, including the composition and migration of the population. Second, we propose an innovative, new research framework for conducting disability research on the rural ecology of disability. We will conduct a series of four related studies in six rural towns scattered across three rural regions around the nation. These studies will establish baselines of key environmental factors and levels of individual health and participation, and assess the interactions between these features over time. In addition, we will develop two interventions and implement them within those same communities. Third, we propose to initiate a line of research to improve the health of children and youth with disabilities living and going to school in small towns and rural communities. Fourth, we propose a series of studies designed to enhance employment of people with disabilities living in rural areas by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation services. We also propose an ambitious knowledge translation (KT) program organized using ecological principles. Our KT program begins by involving those who are expected to use or benefit from the results of research in the design of the research itself. As research progresses, we use multiple methods to increase awareness of the issues addressed, to promote contemplation of change, and to support use or adoption through training and technical assistance. Finally, we integrate the findings from our research and that of others with the experience of people with disabilities living in rural areas to educate the next generation of disability leaders, service providers, and researchers. The ecological paradigm of disability and the emerging new paradigm for rural America intersect at the concept of community. This proposal ties these trends together. In doing so, the RTC:Rural continues to provide leadership in disability research, creates useful information and tools people can use, and serves as a national resource center. |
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