| RESEARCH SUMMARY
Research activities in the Social Policy, Classification, and Assistive Technology Laboratories study the interactions of person and environment factors on lives of people with disabilities. A three-year study to build a battery of assessment tools to capture these interactions is currently funded by the Centers for disease control. All the research conducted in this laboratory follows the general principles of participatory action research, an approach to conducting research that requires those who are the subjects of the research be involved in each aspect of the project to the extent that persons with the impairment have contributions to make. The methods used in the construction and testing of these assessment tools are both qualitative and quantitative. Life histories, key informant interviews and focus groups constitute the qualitative methods. Test of reliability and validity use quantitative methods. The assessment tools are being developed for use in phone interviews, clinical assessment settings and in-home evaluations. The assessment battery will be tested on six groups of individuals with mobility impairments who use assistive technology for moving in their environments. Test of function, participation and environmental accessibility will be administered to individuals diagnosed with Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Polio, or Cerebral Palsy. Another group that is selected for mobility impairment based on device use rather than diagnosis will be assessed. Each of these six groups will be followed for a period of at least one year with assessments at four month intervals. The experimental hypothesis for the intervention phase of the study is that the more accessible the environment is, the more people with mobility impairments will do, the activities they do will be more satisfying and their level of independence will increase. |