Training for specialty health care providers in disabilities frequently focuses on the disabilities and ignores the overall wellness of persons with disabilities. Adolescence is an age where individuals adopt responsibility for their health and establish lifestyle behaviors that promote or impede wellness. This session describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a brief training program developed specifically for interdisciplinary providers to address health promotion for adolescents with disabilities and chronic health conditions. Based on existing research and training, this curriculum addresses three key areas of adolescent wellness: awareness of wellness and its contributors, sexuality, and mental health factors including drug use. Its effectiveness in providing interdisciplinary professionals-in-training with the knowledge and skills to support adolescent wellness is assessed immediately after training and 3 months later. See www.healthwellness.org
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the importance of addressing health and wellness promotion in health care training for adolescents with disabilities. 2. Identify key issues to address in wellness promotion for adolescents. 3. Evaluate the effectiveness of a training program to teach interdisciplinary providers to promote wellness in adolescents with disabilities.
Keywords: Adolescents, Health Promotion
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.