description): The National Health Objectives proposed in Health People 2000 (USDHHS, 1991) include several targets for people with physical disabilities, including: (1) reducing leisure-time physical inactivity; (2) reducing negative effects from stress; and (3) increasing the proportion of persons with disabilities who receive health education information about using community and self- help resources and managing their health conditions (p. 604-605). In order to achieve these specific objectives, appropriate health promotion materials need to be developed, tested and disseminated. This project is directed at these issues and is guided by a team of interdisciplinary researchers with expertise in the areas of health, exercise, leisure and disabilities. This project will conduct survey research that examines the prevalence and severity of secondary disabilities, as well as activity, fitness, and wellness patterns in a large sample of women with disabilities. In addition, a randomized quasi-experimental research study designed to examine the effects of two distinctive health promotion interventions on health and wellness behaviors of women with physical disabilities will be conducted. Results from the needs assessment component of this project should facilitate increased awareness among health care professionals of the health needs of women with disabilities and enhance the likelihood that services provided will more adequately match the needs and expectations of these women. Results from the wellness interventions should prove useful in empowering women with disabilities to take a more active role in their health care and health maintenance. The significance of this research is proposed to lie in the integration of its conceptual framework (i.e., women's health issues, the social and psychological aspects of disability in the lives of women, and the pivotal role leisure behavior plays in the selection, achievement and maintenance of health outcomes) with a unique health promotion program that is both individualized and contextualized, and anchored by the relevance of social support to lifestyle change for women.
| Santiago, Mayra; Coyle, Catherine (2004) Leisure-time physical activity and secondary conditions in women with physical disabilities. Disabil Rehabil 26:485-94 |
| Coyle, Catherine P; Santiago, Mayra C (2002) Healthcare utilization among women with physical disabilities. Medscape Womens Health 7:2 |
| Coyle, C P; Santiago, M C; Shank, J W et al. (2000) Secondary conditions and women with physical disabilities: a descriptive study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 81:1380-7 |
