News Highlights: RTC on Community Living


Greiman and Ravesloot Publish Research on Housing

Lillie Greiman and Craig Ravesloot published Housing Characteristics of Households with Wheeled Mobility Device Users from the American Housing Survey: Do People Live in Homes that Facilitate Community Participation? in Community Development, published online Nov. 19, 2015.

Myers and Ravesloot Publish Research on Time Use

Andrew Myers and Craig Ravesloot published Navigating Time and Space: How Americans with Disabilities Use Time and Transportation in Community Development, published online Nov. 26, 2015.

Reichard Publishes Article about Health Care Use

Amanda Reichard is lead author of Diagnosis Isn't Enough: Understanding the Connections between High Health Care Utilization, Chronic Conditions and Disabilities among U.S. Working Age Adults, which appears in Disability and Health Journal, Volume 8, Issue 4, October 2015, Pages 535–546.

Researchers and Advisors Meet to Plan Knowledge Translation

The RTC on Community Living hosted a retreat for its research partners, Scientific and Consumer Advisory Panel, and IL experts on Sept. 15-16, 2014.

Housing Infographics Show Barriers for People with Mobility Disabilities

The Center has produced two infographics about housing, based on data from the American Housing Survey. One infographic shows information for the entire U.S., both urban and rural, while the second focuses on rural conditions.

Partners Testify on Rural Disability Experiences

Several of the Center’s partners and colleagues testified in a panel, “Living with a Disability in Rural America,” when the National Council on Disability (NCD) held its quarterly meeting in Topeka, KS, on Dec. 4-5, 2013. 

Partner Publishes Disability Statistics Compendium

The Annual Disability Statistics Compendium was released in Dec. 2013. Research partner Andrew Houtenville’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC) produces the web-based tool, which pools disability statistics published by various federal agencies together in one place. The Compendium makes it easy to find disability statistics when working on legislative and other matters relating to persons with disabilities.
Partner Contributes to International Report on SCI

Research partner David Gray contributed to International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury, a report issued by the World Health Organization in Dec. 2013. As a contributor, he wrote portions of three chapters (“Attitudes, relationships and adjustment”; “Spinal cord injury and enabling environments”; “Education and employment”) and recruited people to share their experiences.

Advisor Presents on Disability, Health and Race

SCAP member Stanley Holbrook and his colleague Dara Baldwin made a presentation on Health Disparities of People with Disabilities: Influence of Race and Ethnicity at the annual conference of the National Council on Independent Living in July 2013.

We Mourn the Loss of a Colleague

SCAP member Linda Gonzales was one of the brightest lights of the rural independent living movement. Everyone affiliated with the Center mourns her passing.

Center Researchers Publish Articles

Tom Seekins and Glen White co-authored Participatory Action Research Designs in Applied Disability and Rehabilitation Science: Protecting Against Threats to Social Validity. The article appeared in Archives of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationJanuary 2013.

Amanda Reichard and Michael Fox published Using Population-Based Data to Examine Preventive Services by Disability Type among Dually Eligible (Medicare/Medicaid) Adults in Disability and Health Journal, Vol. 6, Issue 2, April 2013. 

Amalia Monroe-Gulick, Megan O’Brien and Glen White published Librarians as Partners: Moving from Research Supporters to Research Partners (PDF) in the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) annual conference proceedings. Monroe-Gulick presented the paper at the April 2013 ACRL conference.

"Bridging Meeting" Connects Research to Policy and Practice

Research can more effectively improve the lives of people with disabilities when researchers, practitioners and policymakers share information and goals. To build these connections, the RTC on Community Living hosted a Bridging Meeting on Apr. 16-17, 2013 in Alexandria, Va. 

Advisory Panel Member Blogs for CILs

Linda Gonzales is now offering her insights and tips to CILs as a blogger for the CIL Funding and Development Blog. The blog is a project of the New Community Opportunities Center at ILRU. As a founding member and former Executive Director of the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL), Gonzales has recently ventured into the world of funding through foundations, corporations and other sources.

Research Partners Present at APHA Conference

At the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual conference in October 2012, RTC/CL researchers Tom Seekins and Amanda Reichard were panelists in the Disability Chair’s Forum titled “Disentangling Disability and Chronic Conditions.” Charles Drum chairs the Disability Section and organized the panel.

Reichard made two poster presentations at the APHA conference: “Multiple Chronic Conditions and Health Disparities among People with Disabilities Compared to People without Disabilities” (PDF available upon request) and “Weight Loss Intervention for Adults with Physical Disabilities (PDF available upon request).”

Disability Statistics Materials Online

Materials from the 2012 State-of-the-Science Conference (Research on Disability) from the 2012 State-of-the-Science Conference hosted by the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC) are now available. CL researcher Andrew Houtenville is research director for StatsRRTC. 

This event brought together scientists, administrators and staff from disability programs, and leaders from disability policy and advocacy communities to discuss the state of disability statistics and how to move the field forward.

Balcazar Honored by UIC

Fabricio Balcazar was awarded the “Professor of the Year Award” by the College of Applied Health Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in February 2012. The award recognizes his “Continuing groundbreaking scholarship, advocacy and global impact on the lives of people with disabilities.”

Reichard Publishes Diabetes Study

Amanda Reichard, PhD, and co-authors published "Quality of Diabetes Care for Adults with Physical Disabilities" in Kansas in Disability and Health Journal in January 2012.

Individuals with physical disabilities experience a greater risk for diabetes than those without disabilities. This study assessed Kansas Medicaid data to determine the quality of diabetic care provided and the level to which prevention and diabetes management needs are being met for people with physical disabilities. The findings point to strong quality of care programs in Kansas for this population; however an imperative next step is to determine how effectively this population is managing their blood sugar levels day-to-day.

Houtenville Presents on Disability Statistics

Andrew Houtenville presented a webcast “What Counts? Latest Disability Statistics from Federal Surveys and Resources” on Jan.25, 2012. The webcast was sponsored by the Knowledge Translation for Employment Research Center and is archived at KTERC

Houtenville discussed the latest Annual Disability Statistics Compendium released in November 2011 (published by the RRTC on Disability Statistics and Demographics: StatsRRTC). Accessible, valid data and statistics are important to support decisions related to policy improvements, program administration, service delivery, protection of civil rights, and major life activities for people with disabilities.

Research and Training Center on Community Living Receives $4.5M in Funding

This center was created in 2011, when the RTC/IL at the University of Kansas received a five-year, $4.25 million grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to help people with disabilities live in and participate more fully in their communities. Read more at KU News.

For more news about community and independent living for people with disabilities, visit our RTC/IL and MICL news pages.