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Gloria L. Krahn, PhD, MPH, Oregon Institute on Disability & Development, Oregon Health & Science University, PO Box 574, Portland, OR 97201-0574, Laura A. Hammond, MPH, Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Health & Wellness, Oregon Health & Science University, P.O. Box 574, Portland, OR 97207, 503-494-3882, hammondl@ohsu.edu, and Nancy L. Farrell, MA, Graduate School and School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, 11130 Anderson St., Loma Linda, CA 92350.
Teens living with disabilities are at a higher risk for many health risk behaviors (i.e. smoking, poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle). Health care providers, however, do not investigate general health risk behaviors or communicate health promotion messages as frequently to these teens as others. To address this need, the Teen Wellness program used participatory action strategies to develop and implement a curriculum that would increase the awareness and confidence of health care providers to the health promotion needs of teens with disabilities. This session will describe the construction, content, field-testing, and evaluation of the curriculum and its implications for future interventions. The target audience for the modular curriculum was interdisciplinary graduate level student health care providers in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program. The modules addressed 1) health and wellness, 2) relationships and sexuality, 3) mental health and substance abuse, and 4) physical activity and nutrition. The curriculum was field-tested in Oregon Hawaii and Washington, revised, and implemented again. Evaluation of the curriculum with a total of 23 students (in developmental pediatrics, psychology, OT, PT, and others) compared pre and post-test data and 6-month follow-up data. Results of paired t-test analysis revealed significant increases in knowledge, skill, and confidence (P < .05) among participants. A six-month follow-up survey also found that while knowledge decreased slightly, the skills and confidence of participants toward addressing health and wellness issues with teens remained high. This research supports targeting the health promotion practices of graduate level health professionals as an important step in decreasing barriers to health and wellness for teens living with disabilities.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Adolescents, Disability
Related Web page: www.healthwellness.org/training/training_uap.htm
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.