Building a sustainable framework for livable communities is the outcome of our focus on adulthood. Our work places emphasis on communities that include physical environments that can be accessed by everyone, social environments that enrich lives through social interaction and cultural opportunities, and choice and control over one’s health and independence.
Optimal Oral Health for Hoosiers with Disabilities
Oral health is critical to one’s overall health and well-being across the lifespan. However, people with disabilities in Indiana encounter great challenges in dental care access and home oral care. Since October 2018, the Center for Health Equity (CHE) at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC), with support from the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities, has been working to address significant oral health needs of Hoosiers with disabilities.
In 2021-2022, CHE developed training modules and informational materials and conducted in-person trainings for family and paid caregivers of people with disabilities, as well as the dental workforce in Indiana. The development of the trainings was informed by comprehensive research activities, including literature reviews; interviews with adults with disabilities, caregivers, and dental professionals; and online surveys of family caregivers and practicing dentists in Indiana. Advisory groups, consisting of adults with disabilities, family and paid caregivers, dental professionals, and faculty members from the Indiana University School of Dentistry, also guided the training development. In addition, CHE has collaborated on the development and delivery of the trainings with various stakeholders.
For the caregiver trainings, CHE staff collaborated with the Arc of Indiana, Indiana Family to Family, and a dental hygienist on training modules and the in-person trainings that focused on:
- Oral health needs of Hoosiers with disabilities;
- Navigating oral health and dental care systems; and
- At-home dental care.
For the dental workforce trainings, project staff collaborated with the Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA) at IIDC, a disability sensitivity consultant, and a dental hygienist. The dental workforce trainings consist of the following modules:
- Current landscape of oral health needs of Hoosiers with disabilities;
- Supporting those with challenging behavior in a dental setting;
- Disability awareness and effective communication in a dental setting; and
- Practice preparation for dental care for patients with disabilities.
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Sexual Health Project
For approximately four years, the Center for Health Equity (CHE) has been collaborating with the Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA)on the development of evidence-based sexual health training for women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Indiana. In 2021, CHE offered two six-week pilot trainings covering sexual health and healthy relationships with a focus on self-advocacy. The trainings were delivered in a pandemic-friendly video-conference format. Feedback about the training included the following: “My client gained such knowledge and self-confidence to advocate for herself.” In 2022, the curriculum was refined to provide two in-person pilot trainings in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. The curricula have been developed in collaboration with women with IDD. Also in 2022, the project offered a webinar to family and professional caregivers of women with IDD, addressing the importance of sexual health education and healthy relationships.
Southeastern Indiana Rural Transportation Initiative
Lack of transportation is a consistent, pervasive barrier to basic life functions such as getting to work, the grocery store, and health services. Transportation barriers are particularly challenging for recovery communities. The Center for Collaborative Systems Change (CCSC) partners with Interact for Health, One Community One Family, recovery coaches, and social service providers to improve transportation access in Southeastern Indiana through community needs assessments, raising awareness of existing public options, and developing flexible funding programs that support individual transportation needs. To ensure that communities make the best use of scarce resources, programs are designed according to the needs identified by communities. People who live and work in the region are surveyed about available transportation methods, needs and barriers, as well as their perspectives on how to improve local transportation options. Flexible funding programs support people in recovery with transportation needs such as car repairs, gas cards, license fees, and transportation vouchers.
Ethnographic Study of Camp Mueller, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH
IIDC Eppley has completed a 20-month Ethnographic Assessment study relating to Camp Mueller, a historically African American summer camp located at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio in 2022. The project was impacted significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying and eventually eliminating most in-person interviews and field research. One of only four African American-owned-and-operated residential camps in the US, Camp Mueller was an interracial camp established in 1939 by the Phyllis Wheatley Association. The camp’s main purpose was to provide recreational activities for inner-city children in the Cleveland area. Today, the camp is located within Cuyahoga Valley National Park on a private inholding protected by a conservation easement intended to promote, perpetuate, and preserve Camp Mueller’s character and to preserve the historic, scenic, natural, and recreational values integral to the Park’s mission.
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COVID-19 Vaccination Projects
COVID-19 vaccines help prevent COVID-19 infection and related severe consequences such as hospitalization or death. With funds from the Administration for Community Living and Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the Center for Health Equity (CHE) has worked on three COVID-19 projects since April 2021. With these projects, CHE focuses on not only Indiana but also other neighboring states (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin). These projects aim to increase the vaccination rates of people with disabilities through education about COVID-19 and vaccines. To achieve the aim, CHE has engaged in information dissemination via social media posts and webinars; development and dissemination of various resources such as plain-language fact sheets and infographics in English, Spanish and American Sign Language; and successful vaccination videos. A variety of disability advocates and organizations have guided the Center’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
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