Chiaki Gonda, B.A. Glen W. White, Ph.D. University of Kansas Craig Ravesloot, Ph.D. University of Montana MICL Advisory Panel Meeting November 2009 New Project: R-7 Effects of Information and Skills Training Package on Increasing Community Participation of Consumers with Mobility Limitations

Purpose of the Project To conduct a small intervention study with the goal of increasing frequency and diversity of community participation by people with mobility limitations through information, skills training, and social support To test the utility of a Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) device to collect information and measure consumers participation in the community

Information and Skills Training Weekly educational workshop - Goal Setting - Problem Solving - Information Seeking - Advocacy Weekly social support group

How do we measure participation?

Data Collection 6 prompts a day between 9am-9pm PDA Community Participation Survey Verification of self-report - Permanent Products (e.g., receipts, brochure, appointment cards, tickets) or - Date/time stamped digital photo Pre and post SPARC survey (Gray et al.)

Progress to date TaskDate Completed IRB approvalMay 2009 Convened Focus GroupJuly 2009 PDA Programming and testing September 2009 Refine methodology and procedure protocols Near completion

Next Steps TaskTarget Date Finish revising training chapters May 2009 Recruit participantsPresent-January 2010 Conduct a pilot studyFebruary-March 2010 Analyze pilot test results & modify method and procedures as needed March-April 2010 Conduct second studyMay-August 2010 Analyze results, complete study, and disseminate September-October 2010

Anticipated Results Participants will have established and taken action to research stated goals Participants will participate in the community at a higher rate than baseline levels The research methodology will contribute to a more empirical approach of collecting and verifying data concerning the frequency and diversity of community participation of people with disabilities This skills and information package to enhance consumer community participation will be used by CILs to help enhance their current CIL services and programs.

Questions for Advisory Panel Members What types of incentives and how much of an incentive would be sufficient to keep participants in this study, and maintain their PDA data collection routine? Do you have advice on the best approach to facilitate skill and information training? Pace of training? Length of the training? Intensity of training? Lecture/discussion versus cooperative learning with more class interaction? Organization of the training content?

For more information… Contact: Chiaki Gonda – Glen White –