National Center on Physical Activity and Disability

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), through its Department of Disability and Human Development, and in collaboration with several major organizations in physical activity, rehabilitation and disability, operates the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD). The primary focus of NCPAD is to improve the health, wellness, and quality of life of people with disabilities by promoting and facilitating increased participation in physical activity and recreation. NCPAD is a proven and effective online health promotion resource center supplemented by personalized services fully accessible to people with disabilities.

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Recreational Technologies and Exercise Physiology Benefiting Individuals with Disabilities

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) has funded the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Recreational Technology and Exercise Physiology Benefiting Persons with Disabilities (RecTech). RecTech's researchers develop technologies that can help promote more active, healthy lifestyles among people with disabilities as one approach to addressing this important public health problem.

Inclusive Fitness Coalition (IFC)

The Inclusive Fitness Coalition (IFC) was formed to address policy, environmental, and societal issues associated with the lack of inclusion and access to physical activity among people with disabilities. It is estimated that 50 million people have some type of disability. This significant portion of the population faces some of the greatest health risks associated with sedentary lifestyles. The Inclusive Fitness Coalition developed out of the need to address these health issues and create a unified effort to increase access to and participation in physical activity for youths, adults and seniors with physical, cognitive and sensory disabilities.

Personalized Exercise Program

Personalized Physical Activity and Nutrition Program

The University of Illinois at Chicago is collaborating with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago on a recently-funded 3-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce secondary conditions in people with mobility disabilities through a telephone-based coaching intervention that focuses on improvements in nutrition and physical activity. The study is entitled “A Personalized Physical Activity and Nutrition Program for Overweight/Obese Adults with Mobility Disabilities.”

Health Empowerment Zone

This longitudinal study funded by the National Institutes of Health uses a community-based participatory research (CBPR) model to improve access to the built environment for persons with mobility disabilities.

Disability Rehabilitation Research Project

The Disability Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP) titled Reducing Obesity and Obesity-Related Secondary Conditions in Adolescents with Disabilities is a 3-year center grant funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), James H. Rimmer, Principal Investigator.

RRTC: Longitudinal Health & Intellectual Disability Study (LHIDS)

Exploring the effects of healthy choices for individuals with intellectual disability

The Longitudinal Health & Intellectual Disability Study (LHIDS) is a 5-year research project exploring health behaviors and outcomes for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), LHIDS will consist of two studies, one involving a longitudinal cohort of 1700-2000 adults with ID over a five year period to establish the relationship between health behaviors and health outcomes. The second study will test a strength and balance intervention aimed at preventing accidental falls for persons with ID via a randomized control trial. Together, the LHIDS studies will generate important knowledge regarding the health of adults with ID. Research findings can serve to better inform consumers and their families, health care professionals, and disability policymakers in regard to health promotion for persons with ID. 

Illinois Disability and Health Project

The Illinois Disability and Health Program is a collaboration initiated jointly by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The goal of the program is to reduce and prevent secondary health conditions, especially chronic health problems, that are related to or exacerbated by primary disability, among Illinois citizens with disability and promote their health, well-being and quality of life.

Universal Design and Health Promotion (UDHP)

Examination of Built Environment Instruments Addressing Health Promoting Behaviors

The UDHP project is a content review of the commonalities and disparities across existing built environment measurement tools which measure health promotion accessibility and community livability. This study identifies subject domain content overlap across instruments, and which domains and instruments are sensitive to accessibility for people with disabilities and other constituent groups, or which require further modification. Information on instrument methodological features, including instrument development methods, research design, and psychometrics are also provided.