ODHP Ohio Disability and Heath Partnership

ODHP Infrastructure

  • The four circles in the diagram above represent the core components of the Ohio Disability and Health Program:
  • The Ohio Department of Health (ODH)
  • The Ohio State University Nisonger Center
  • University of Cincinnati (UC) UCEDD
  • The Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC)
  • David Ellsworth and Susan Havercamp (co-principal investigators) and Lauren Hackenberg (program coordinator) will manage this project from offices located at Nisonger, which is the bona fide agent for this funding.
  • Nisonger and ODH work directly with the (UC) UCEDD and the GRC to coordinate and execute all activities.
  • The Disability Advisory Committee serves as a vehicle for ODHP to drive positive change for Ohioans with disabilities by providing guidance and input for all project activities.

odhODH

The mission of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is to protect and improve the health of all Ohioans. In its multi-faceted role, ODH has a wide range of responsibilities including: educating people on ways to improve their quality of life through practical lifestyle changes and prevention strategies; promoting healthy and safe conditions in the work place and home; protecting Ohio’s more than 11.5 million people from diseases, injuries and disabilities; and responding to natural disasters, bioterrorism attacks and more. Working in partnership with more than 120 county and city health departments, ODH provides much needed public health leadership and services throughout the state. ODH is primarily responsible for overseeing the execution of all project activities, the formation of connections for ODHP through various networks of health departments, and the integration of disability into as many existing mainstream health programs as possible.

nisongerNisonger Center

The Ohio State University Nisonger Center provides a range of clinical services and assistance to people with disabilities, families, service providers, and organizations to promote health, quality of life, and community inclusion. With its understanding of disability, health issues, and operations that impact Ohioans statewide, Nisonger is the appropriate lead agency for this grant. Its motivated team of faculty and staff is committed to building state capacity to provide quality care to people with disabilities and works with students and health care trainees to reduce disparities and improve services in Ohio. Nisonger also has established relationships within the disability and public health communities, and is thus an ideal liaison to foster awareness and collaboration for better health outcomes for people with disabilities. Health promotion initiatives include the Be Healthy Information Program (B-HIP), which provides health information to people with disabilities and their families throughout Florida and Ohio. The principal investigators, and program, research, and linkage coordinators will coordinate all ODHP project activities to best fulfill the goals of the needs assessment, provider training initiative, linkage project, health promotion intervention, and PSE (policy, systems, and environmental) changes.

ucuceddUC UCEDD

The University of Cincinnati University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UC UCEDD), located in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, is one of 67 UCEDDs nationally. The UC UCEDD strives to advance health and well-being of children, adolescents and adults with disabilities and their families by 1) training professionals who will take a leadership role in addressing the needs of children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families ; 2) creating innovative models of care delivery to provide interdisciplinary, comprehensive, family-centered and effective health care ; 3) adding to knowledge in the field through state-of-the art research, publications and presentations to professional and community audiences; and 4) providing technical assistance to organizations, legislators, and advocacy groups to increase an understanding of the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities, and to promote advocacy and public policy to address these needs. As one of the ODHP team members, UC UCEDD will provide technical assistance, implement health promotion demonstration projects, such as the Living Well in the Community (LWIC)  program, work on health policy issues, and disseminate health and disability information to providers, individuals with disabilities and family members.

Government Resource Center

The Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC) is a public university-based center for health policy, research, and technical assistance that seeks to promote health system transformation through partnerships between Ohio’s academic community and health leaders. The GRC serves state and local government agencies and private clients that provide, purchase, and regulate health services. The center draws on the expertise of faculty and staff from Ohio’s seven medical colleges and 13 public universities and maintains close working relations with public and private sector health policy groups, health advocacy groups, and survey research firms. As an ODHP team member, the GRC provides expertise in around project evaluation and will perform data analysis for the program.

Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) (Formerly DHP)

The DAC serves as the vehicle for the intersection of disability and public health to improve health outcomes for people with disabilities. The DAC provides guidance and input for all project activities, including disability initiatives related to assessing needs, health promotion, health pathways, and training and education. ODHP is fortunate to have such an enthusiastic network of important members on its advisory panel. The DAC will also help ODHP to connect with the wider community; mainly, those with disabilities, their families, and professionals in the healthcare system. The DAC is comprised of individuals who represent different groups, including healthcare professionals, public health professionals, state agencies, local and state disability serving organizations, and self-advocates with disabilities.

Our Team!

David Ellsworth, MPH
David Ellsworth, MPHProgram Manager/Principal Investigator
Susan Havercamp, Ph.D., FAAIDD, NADD-CC
Susan Havercamp, Ph.D., FAAIDD, NADD-CCPrincipal Investigator
Zoe Wenk
Zoe WenkClinical Research Coordinator
Ilka Riddle, PhD
Ilka Riddle, PhDCo-Investigator
Erica Harris, MS, CHES, TTS
Erica Harris, MS, CHES, TTSHealth Promotion Advisor
Cara Whalen Smith, PT, DPT, MPH, CHES
Cara Whalen Smith, PT, DPT, MPH, CHESProject Evaluator
Katherine Randle, BA, MPH
Katherine Randle, BA, MPHSelf-Advocate and Advisor
Durga Mishra
Durga MishraCommunity Health Worker, Linkage Coordinator

ODHP Project Activities

Over a 5-year period (2021 – 2026), ODHP will work to improve the health and quality of life for the over 2 million Ohioans with disabilities with strategies that include partnership building, needs assessment, healthcare provider training, linkages project, health promotion, and Policy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) changes. Click on each activity to learn more about our current projects and how we plan to move forward in the future.

Project activities:

  • Partnership building
  • Needs assessment
  • Healthcare linkages
  • Health Promotion
  • Training and Education
  • PSE Changes

Summary

ODHP will establish and expand their project advisory group, and enhance partnerships with community partners and the CDC-funded national centers on Disability (Special Olympics and NCHPAD).

Year 1 Updates

ODHP has a Disability Advisory Committee comprised of healthcare professionals, public health professionals, state agency representatives, state and local disability serving organization representatives, and disabled self-advocates to provide guidance to project activities. In year 1, we significantly increased the number of members who self-identify as having a disability (33 new members identifying as having a disability). We met with both NCHPAD and Special Olympics about Year 1 project activities. We also have partnerships with the Ohio Department of Health, Creating Healthy Communities, and the State Health Assessment (SHA) Disability Addendum team.

Summary

ODHP will use available data sources to describe healthcare disparities experienced by adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and mobility limitations (ML). ODHP will conduct a statewide needs assessment of adults with disabilities to identify gaps in healthcare access, and other health programs and resources, and develop an action plan to engage with accessible preventative healthcare programs and resources.

Year 1 Updates

ODHP used both secondary data sources (existing public health survey data) and qualitative data (listening sessions with Ohio adults with disabilities) to identify healthcare disparities experienced by Ohio adults with disabilities. We worked with our Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) Needs Assessment workgroup to design the listening sessions, and develop an action plan to address the gaps that were identified. The results of this needs assessment (full report) can be viewed here: https://go.osu.edu/2022needsassessment. A plain language summary is also available: https://go.osu.edu/needsassessmentinfographic. We also presented the results of our needs assessment to Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center staff and the Ohio Department of Health Sponsored State Health Assessment (SHA) Disability Addendum Team.

Summary

ODHP will work with other CDC-funded state disability and health programs to identify and assess disability trainings for healthcare providers and promote and administer the trainings.

Year 1 Updates

The state disability and health programs, selected and made updates to two online trainings for healthcare providers, Responsive Practice: Providing Health Care and Screenings and Responsive Practice: Accessible and Adaptive Communication. For more information, or to take the trainings, please visit: https://go.osu.edu/disabilitytrainingceu 

Summary

ODHP will design and enroll adults with IDD in a project that provides health education and links them to unmet healthcare needs.

Year 1 Updates

The 10 disability and health state programs developed a standard protocol and data collection instruments (including a preventative health checklist, mental health assessment, and health behavior assessment). ODHP hired and trained community health worker, Durga Mishra and established a working partnership with Health Impact Ohio. ODHP also began compiling a list of accessible health resources for referrals.

Summary

ODHP will implement an evidence-based health promotion intervention that is adapted for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and mobility limitations (ML).

Year 1 Updates

The 10 disability and health state programs selected the health promotion intervention, Living Well in the Community (LWIC). LWIC is a 10-week workshop that teaches participants to:

  • Identify what is meaningful to them and then set quality of life goals around ways they want to make their lives better
  •  Make progress toward the goals they set by applying problem-solving skills and managing emotions like frustration and discouragement, feelings that can get in the way of reaching goals
  • Discover tools and skills that can make goal achievement easier like communicating effectively and finding important resources
  • Explore ways to improve their overall health by changing daily habits
  • Practice self-advocacy and systems-advocacy to help them make changes that can support them and others in living well

ODHP has partnered with five Ohio Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to implement LWIC in future project years.

We welcome feedback on all of our project activities. If you have a comment or would like more information about any of our activities please contact our Clinical Research Coordinator, Zoe Wenk at Zoe.Wenk@osumc.edu, or any other member of our team.

You can also find more information about this type of program through the archived webcast of CDC’s Public Health Grand Rounds: Where in health is disability? Public health practices to include people with disabilities.