Open AccessConducting Accessible Research: Including People With Disabilities in Public Health, Epidemiological, and Outcomes Studies
Author(s) -
Dianne Rios,
Susan Magasi,
Catherine Novak,
Mark Harniss
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2016.303448
Subject(s) - mainstream , public health , psychological intervention , inclusion (mineral) , epidemiology , gerontology , interpretability , health care , medicine , universal design , research design , population , psychology , nursing , environmental health , social psychology , sociology , political science , computer science , social science , machine learning , world wide web , law
People with disabilities are largely absent from mainstream health research. Exclusion of people with disabilities may be explicit, attributable to poorly justified exclusion criteria, or implicit, attributable to inaccessible study documents, interventions, or research measures. Meanwhile, people with disabilities experience poorer health, greater incidence of chronic conditions, and higher health care expenditure than people without disabilities. We outline our approach to "accessible research design"-research accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities. We describe a model that includes 3 tiers: universal design, accommodations, and modifications. Through our work on several large-scale research studies, we provide pragmatic examples of accessible research design. Making efforts to include people with disabilities in public health, epidemiological, and outcomes studies will enhance the interpretability of findings for a significant patient population.