Nisonger Center Partnering to Promote Health and Wellness of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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Date

2018-04

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Ohio State University. Office of Outreach and Engagement

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Abstract

Children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have significant developmental and health care needs, and they face disparities in health and access to health care compared to people without disabilities. The Ohio State University Nisonger Center is committed to improving the health and wellness of Ohioans with developmental disabilities through research, clinical services and training. We engage with community partners to increase community awareness of the health needs of people with disabilities, integrate health promotion programs into existing community structures, and provide disability training to future health care providers. We will present four innovative community engagement programs.

Description

Children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities have significant developmental and health care needs and face disparities in health and access to health care compared to people without disabilities. The Ohio State University Nisonger Center is committed to improving the health and wellness of Ohioans with developmental disabilities through research, clinical services, and training. We engage with community partners to increase community awareness of the health needs of people with disabilities, integration of health promotion programs into existing community structures, and provide disability training to future health care providers. We will present four innovative community engagement programs. 1. The Nisonger Center Dental Program partners with the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Franklin County Family and Early Childhood Center to provide comprehensive dental services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and those affected by disparities in access to dental services. The Nisonger dental program provides didactic and clinical experience for all dental students, dental hygiene students, pediatric fellows and pediatric dental residents in the care of people with developmental disabilities. 2. Creating Inclusive Communities: Nisonger Center partnered with communities in Adams and Marion counties to conduct community health inclusion assessments and to design and implement projects to make healthy choices the easy choices for people with disabilities in those communities. 3. Living Independent From Tobacco: We partner with public health centers, centers for independent living, and other community partners to offer smoking cessation programs to people with disabilities and we offer train-the-trainer sessions to build community capacity to sustain smoking cessation services. 4. Training future health care providers to care for patients with disabilities: Disabilities are given scant mention in professional training programs. It is not surprising, then, that health care providers report feeling unprepared and uncomfortable caring for patients with disabilities. Nisonger Center provides interprofessional collaborative disability training to future health care providers in dentistry, medicine, nursing, speech language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, psychology, social work and public health. Every year, almost 5,000 students and professionals receive training or participate in our educational programs. As these students graduate to clinical practice, they will bring disability competence and provide quality health care to patients with disabilities in their communities.
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Susan Havercamp, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Genetic Counseling/Director, Ohio Disability and Health Program/Director, Nisonger Center Health Promotion and Healthcare Parity Program, Nisonger Center, susan.havercamp@osumc.edu (Corresponding Author); Danielle Johnson-Curry, Assistant Professor, General Practice and Material Science/Director, Nisonger Center Dental Program, Nisonger Center; Paula Rabidoux, Nisonger Center Associate Director, Lend Co-Director, Nisonger Center; Tamara Hager, Fiscal Officer/Manager of Outreach and Engagement, Nisonger Center.

Keywords

disability, interprofessional, interdisciplinary, disparity, underserved

Citation

Engaged Scholars, v. 6 (2018).