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Research

Enhancing Independent Living

The RTC/IL is a collection of projects and centers committed to enhancing independent living for people with disabilities and bridging local, state, and national levels. We work with end-users of our research to produce relevant, useful scientific studies and products.

Our Current Research Project

The Research and Training Center on Measurement and Interdependence in Community Living focuses on enhancing community participation. It addresses the National Institute of Disability Rehabilitation Research priorities for a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Effective Independent Living and Community Living Solutions and Measures.

Past Projects

For example, in 2005 the RTC/IL pooled the expertise and ideas of colleagues in independent living, governmental, and research sectors to develop and document priorities in disability research, practices, policies, and funding initiatives. The Center sponsored a working group in 2005 to identify specific, actionable recommendations with a 5-10 year horizon, with measurable outcomes, to increase full participation for Americans with disabilities in community life. These recommendations were given to the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to aid in its development of research that will maximize participation and enhance community living of people with disabilities. View this executive summary at Independent Living Working Group Recommendations.

Besides engaging consumers and others in Consumer-Empowered Teams (also known as Participatory Action Research) to help identify key areas of policy concern, another way the RTC/IL research has been part of the dialogue guiding disability policy is by providing expert counsel, testimony, and scientifically drawn evidence in support of policy issues. We also have participated in funded research of policy significance to persons with disabilities in specialized studies as the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Full Participation in Independent Living and the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Underserved Populations that studied independent living needs assessment for underserved populations, assistive technology skills training for consumers with psychiatric disabilities, service accommodation for consumers with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, and facilitation of effective board skills for underserved disability populations.

Throughout our research and knowledge dissemination activities, we have collaborated with other individuals and organizations. For example, we teamed with the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) Program of TIRR to improve access and use of independent living research information through the Research Information for Independent Living (RIIL) project, which included several webcasts and the interactive Internet database (www.getriil.org) that contains research summaries on key independent living-related topics.

In our Nobody Left Behind project funded by the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research and also by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine, we’ve worked with numerous organizations throughout the United States to assess whether disaster plans and emergency response systems met the needs of people with mobility impairments.

Guiding student research also is a Center priority. Learn more about about this through Research Group on Rehabilitation and Independent Living.

Other Studies

Here’s a sampling of our research studies through the years:

• Transforming Communities: The Economic and Quality of Life Impact of Centers for Independent Living
• Assessing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Persons with Disabilities
• Disaster Planning for People With Mobility Impairments: Nobody Left Behind
• Training Workshops to Reduce and Prevent Secondary Conditions for People With Spinal Cord Injuries in Peru
• Missouri Medicaid Project
• Teaching Post Secondary Students with Disabilities How to Advocate for Accommodations They Need to Succeed
• Development and Evaluation of a Community Disability Planning Method for American Indian Tribal Concerns Report 
• Strategies to Promote Accessible Cost-Effective Advocacy and Generic Community
• RISC Instrument for Secondary Conditions
• Measuring the Effects of Independent Living Services for People With Disabilities on Their Participation in Major Life Activities
• In Home, Low Cost Physical Activity Program
• Federal Courts’ Evolving Definition of “Disability” and “Emerging Disability”
• Ethnic Minorities with Disabilities Creating Changes in Their Communities
• Full Participation in Independent Living Concerns Report Survey
• Emerging Disability Groups into the Independent Living Paradigm
• Advocacy Issues and Strategies for the 21st Century: Key Disability Rights Informants
• Understanding Health and Wellness Needs and Communication Networks of People With Disabilities From Ethnic and Racial Minorities
• CIL-Requested Independent Living Research Priorities
• Underserved Populations Served by Centers for Independent Living
• Development of a Brief Instrument to Measure Independence of People With Head Injuries
• Centers for Independent Living Services for Children and Youths
• Center for Independent Living Services for People With Brain Injuries
• Assessing Accessibility of Fitness Facilities for Persons Using Wheelchairs
• Increasing Physical Activity for Women With Mobility Disabilities Through Structured Programs
• Advocacy Letter Project
• Home Access Modifications: Effects on Community Visits by People With Physical Disabilities
• Building Underserved Consumer Consensus Using the Concerns Report Method
• Leading Self-Help Group Meetings
• Kansas Supportive Employment Analysis
• Consumer Exploitation by Personal Assistants
• Media Use to Change Attitudes Toward People With Disabilities and Knowledge of Independent Living Services
• Empowering People With Physical Disabilities Through Advocacy Skills Training
• Independent Living and Aging Services
• Reducing the Risk of Pressure Sores With Watch Prompts and Alarm Avoidance
• Living Well With a Disability Health and Wellness Intervention Program
• Independent Living Center Services for People With Cognitive Disabilities
• Housing Priorities for People With Disabilities
• Concerns Report Method: Involving Consumers in Planning for Their Own Service and Research Needs
• Consumer-Directed Attendant Referral Pool
• Consumer-Defined Standards for Courteous Treatment by Service Agencies 
• Effects of Self-Help Guides on Three Consumer Advocacy Skills
• Influencing Media Through Advocacy Groups: The Media Watch Campaign
• Deterring Unauthorized Use of Handicapped Spaces
• Caregiving Job Feasibility for Young Adults With Mental Retardation
• Promoting Wheelchair Accessibility of Private Business Settings
• Impact of Centers for Independent Living on Consumers and Community
• Courteous Service in Human Service Administration Organizations
• Peer Counseling: Consumer Involvement in Independent Living Programs
• Job Assessment and Training Strategy
• Information and Referral System for Independent Living Program
• Establishing Guidelines for Reporting and Writing About People With Disabilities
  Through Consensus Opinion
• Checklist Use to Increase Personal Assistant Management
• Independent Living Program and Service Needs