Preventing health problems that disrupt community living: A health promotion needs assessment

People with physical disabilities experience health disparities and poor health outcomes that endanger community living and participation, and sometimes contribute to institutionalization. Centers for Independent Living (CILs) provide vital services to assist consumers with disabilities in achieving and maintaining community living; these organizations could be trusted sources in providing targeted health information. As first steps in devising a Health Promotion Assistance Tool for CIL staff to use with consumers, this project conducted a Needs Assessment study to collect feedback on what information would be most useful. First, researchers interviewed key informants from a sample of CIL staff members to gain input for a survey on the content of the proposed tool. Then, they disseminated the survey by e-mail to 426 CILs listed in a national data bank, and received responses from one or more staff members from 93 CILs. CIL staff reported that their consumers experienced a variety of chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, high blood pressure) in addition to their physical disability, and that they also experienced secondary health conditions such as chronic pain and depression. CIL staff also reported that they believed their consumers were in need of supports to enable them to engage in preventive health care. We discuss implications for these findings to our further research.