News and Notes 525 August 17

birgitta.chaiken - Wed, 08/17/2022 - 11:56

In observance of Complex Rehabilitation Technology (CRT) Awareness Week, NARIC staff has information about current NIDILRR-funded projects focusing on CRT, products designed to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities, in their Spotlight blog; NIDILRR/ACL announces publication of a final rule governing NIDILRR-funded research in the Federal Register; This Just In... features a study investigating barriers posed by the design of online health information platforms and how to overcome them for neurodiverse populations; the Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (Transitions ACR) launches new podcast, STAY Tuned: Supporting Transition-Age Youth, made by and for young adults with mental health conditions navigating school or work; researchers from INROADS: Intersecting Research on Opioid Misuse, Addiction, and Disability Services have edited Disability and Substance Use: Misuse and Addiction, a special supplement to the Disability and Health Journal; principal investigator for the Boston-Harvard Burn Injury Model System Center to receive the 2022 John Stanley Coulter Award from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM); the ADA National Network Knowledge Translation Center will host Twitter chat, Education and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), covering back-to-school topics, frequently asked questions about higher education and the ADA, and more; the Mid-Atlantic ADA Regional Center hosts webinar, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Mental Health in Higher Education: Current Case Law; the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division release Guidance on Nondiscrimination in Telehealth: Federal Protections to Ensure Accessibility to People with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Persons.

Date sent: 
2022-08-17
NARIC news: 

This is Complex Rehabilitation Technology (CRT) Awareness Week, organized by the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehabilitation Technology. CRT products are medically necessary, individually configured devices that require evaluation, configuration, fitting, adjustment, or programming by a team of rehabilitation professionals such as physicians and nurses, occupational and physical therapists, assistive technologists, and engineers. CRT products are designed to meet the specific and unique medical, physical, and functional needs of individuals with disabilities. They can include manual and powered wheelchair systems, seating and positioning systems, standing devices, and much more. We took a quick look at some of the current NIDILRR-funded projects that are focusing on CRT, both the technologies that support independence, and the policies needed to make them affordable, available, and durable.

This Just In: 
Barriers to online dementia information and mitigation. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’22). NARIC Accession Number: J88960.
New to the NARIC collection, this NIDILRR-funded study investigated the barriers that are posed by the way online health information platforms are designed as well as how to overcome these barriers for people with dementia. Analysis of interviews and observation sessions with people with mild-to-moderate dementia revealed four barriers to online health information (a lack of relevant information, inaccessible dementia information, inaccurate and over-simplified dementia-related information, and information which elicits distrust) and the corresponding mitigation strategies that participants employed. The authors discuss how human-computer interaction researchers may apply these findings towards new technical approaches and standards concerning information accessibility and credibility for neurodiverse populations. Access the full abstract and ordering information in REHABDATA.
 
Resource Highlight: 
Podcast: STAY Tuned - Supporting Transition-Age Youth
The NIDILRR-funded Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (Transitions ACR) (90RTEM0005) recently launched a new podcast, STAY Tuned: Supporting Transition-Age Youth. The podcast is made by and for young adults with mental health conditions to share information gained through studies of transition-age youth and young adults navigating school or work. Episodes feature guest interviews, including research collaborators from across the globe, discussing the challenges and opportunities for youth with serious mental health struggles, particularly as they navigate educational and workforce experiences. The inaugural episodes covered the unique importance of transition-age youth services and engaging youth in mental health services.
 
NIDILRR News and Events: 
ACL Announces Final Rule that Advances Equity in NIDILRR Peer Review Criteria
NIDILRR/ACL announced publication of a final rule governing NIDILRR-funded research, following input from the public on a proposed rule published earlier this year. The final rule contains two significant changes: First, the final rule advances equity in the “Project Staff” peer review criteria that NIDILRR uses to evaluate disability research applications across all of its research programs. Second, the final rule makes changes to emphasize the need for appropriate engineering research and development activities within NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) program. View the final rule in the Federal Register.
 
News items: 
Disability and Health Special Supplement Spotlights the Intersection of Disability and Substance Use Disorders
Researchers from the NIDILRR-funded project INROADS: Intersecting Research on Opioid Misuse, Addiction, and Disability Services (90DPGE0007) edited Disability and Substance Use, Misuse, and Addiction, a special supplement to the Disability and Health Journal dedicated to the intersection of disability and substance use disorders including opioids, alcohol, and other substances. The articles in this collection expand the base of knowledge, with themes arising in the areas of prevalence and identification of disability-related disparities, perspectives of people with lived experience of disability, and adaptations to substance use measures and interventions. The issue includes articles from INROADS and other NIDILRR-funded studies, as well as other researchers. All articles are available free in full text.
 
NIDILRR Researcher Receives ACRM Coulter Award
Ross Zafonte, DO, principal investigator for the NIDILRR-funded Boston-Harvard Burn Injury Model System Center (90DPBU0001), co-investigator for Spaulding-Harvard Traumatic Brain Injury Model System Center (90DPTB0011), and co-investigator for the recently-completed Spaulding New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center (90SI5021), will receive the 2022 John Stanley Coulter Award from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM). The award recognizes a professional whose lifetime achievements have contributed significantly to the field of rehabilitation. Dr. Zafonte will present the prestigious John Stanley Coulter Lecture during the ACRM Annual Conference in November.
 
Grantee event: 
Twitter Chat: Education and the ADA
The NIDILRR-funded ADA National Network Knowledge Translation Center (90DPAD0004) will host a Twitter chat, Education and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), August 24th, 1 - 2 pm ET. Representatives from the 10 regional centers will be covering back-to-school topics, the most frequently asked questions about higher education and the ADA, and more. Search #ADANetworkChat on Twitter to follow the chat. A Twitter account is not necessary to follow the discussion, but users must be logged into an account to post questions and answers.
 
Webinar: ADA and Mental Health in Higher Education - Current Case Law
The NIDILRR-funded Mid-Atlantic ADA Regional Center (90DPAD0008) will host a webinar, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Mental Health in Higher Education: Current Case Law, August 24th, 2 - 3:30 pm ET. Guest presenters will examine current trends in case law involving students with mental health disabilities in higher education. Discussion will include students' rights and colleges' responsibilities under the ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Fair Housing Act; how the Department of Justice and courts have ruled on these rights and responsibilities; and best practices colleges can use to support students with mental health disabilities. Registration is free and required.
 
Elsewhere in the Community: 
HHS and DOJ Release Guidance on Nondiscrimination in Telehealth
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division released Guidance on Nondiscrimination in Telehealth: Federal Protections to Ensure Accessibility to People with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Persons. The new guidance covers various federal civil rights laws and seeks to inform providers and other covered entities of their obligations under federal law. The guidance provides examples and best practices to ensure people with disabilities are able to fully access telehealth services. It also includes information on how individuals can file complaints if they believe they have been discriminated against by a health care or telehealth provider.
 
Archive link: 
http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=654309&f=1190&s=26993&m=934315&t=635cba0a9267f719dd304fcd1ae764b160681b0bc4432192fe4b80b0dffecb7c