1. Including and Engaging People with Disabilities:
Developing Guidance for Local Health Departments
Meredith Williams, MPH; Kendall Leser, PhD; Jennifer Li, MHS
Background
Local health departments (LHDs) are uniquely positioned to promote equal access, full participation, and healthy outcomes for people with disabilities in their communities. However, people with disabilities are often unintentionally excluded from LHD programs, services, and activities. LHDs face multiple barriers to including and engaging people with disabilities, such as:
Reduced and uncertain funding;
Staff cuts;
Competing priorities; and
Low awareness of disability inclusion strategies.
In a recent survey, only 11% of LHDs were aware that people with disabilities experience health disparities. Less than half reported understanding the needs and demographics of people with disabilities.
Methods
Guidance was developed based on input from national and local organizations, public health training, lived experience as a self-advocate, and a cross-sector literature search of best strategies. Because much of the work on disability inclusion has been conducted outside the field of public health, making recommendations from other sectors relevant to LHDs was a priority.
Recommendations
Flowchart demonstrating that this guide was developed based on the lived experience of a self-advocate, training received as a NACCHO Health and Disability Fellow, and advisement from the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Wauwatosa Health Department
Characteristics
To be useful for LHDs, this guide was designed to be: (1) quick and convenient to use, (2) applicable to all ongoing LHD activities, (3) comprehensive, (4) suitable for diverse LHDs, and (5) sensitive to LHD constraints
Components
Purpose
To improve access to the information, tools, and strategies that LHDs need to include and engage people with disabilities, a disability inclusion guide was developed as a thesis project. The goal of this guide was to encourage LHDs to:
Become aware of the needs of people with disabilities who live in their jurisdictions;
Undertake planned, strategic changes to improve inclusion and engagement;
Collaborate with local and national disability organizations; and
Become disability allies.
The guide makes the case for including people with disabilities in public health activities, provides a self-assessment tool, and makes recommendations that LHDs can use to: (1) better understand the needs of people with disabilities and
(2) plan for making practical, sustainable, and low-cost improvements over time.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Dr. Nancy Kreuser, Laura Conklin, Kim Contardi, Terry Brandenburg, and all those who have supported this project through feedback, practical experience, and presentation opportunities.
References
NACCHO. (2014). National assessment of the knowledge, awareness, and inclusion of people with disabilities in local health departments’ public health practices. Retrieved from
FODH Inclusive Image Library:
Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System:
CDC Public Health Image Library: