National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD) |
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.
The Center exploits proven and emerging information technologies to promote greater access to opportunities for beneficial physical activity, increased participation in structured and unstructured physical activity programs, higher rates of adherence to regular physical activity, and greater awareness of the health and function benefits people with disabilities can attain from healthful nutrition and physical activity regimens. The Center takes full advantage of the growing convergence of entertainment and communications media — television, video, telephone, and Internet — to deliver high quality multi-media instructional and promotional materials directly to people with disabilities, caregivers, health, rehabilitation and fitness professionals, and researchers.
Key features of NCPAD:
- Exceptional cross-disability presence with national representation of persons with all types of disabilities through participation with the nation’s leading disability organizations;
- A strong and proven record of accomplishments in information technology and health promotion, including successful operation of multiple projects of similar scope;
- Exceptional breadth and scope of expertise in all critical areas of physical activity and disability, including fitness, health promotion, nutrition, outdoor and indoor recreation, adaptive sports and rehabilitation;
- Integral participation by people with disabilities in all aspects of the Center, including the collaborating partnerships, the National Consumer Advisory Panel, and faculty and staff of the organization.
NCPAD continues a productive programmatic partnership with CDC’s Disability and Health Team and has expanded its collaborative partnerships with an impressive number of major national organizations central to its mission. These include the American College of Sports Medicine, American Physical Therapy Association, American Therapeutic Recreation Association, YMCA of the USA, Inclusive Fitness Coalition (representing 70 disability, public health and fitness/rehabilitation organizations), Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, US Paralympics, Arc of US, and Spina Bifida Association. Measurable outcomes of the Center align with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) goal to “monitor, characterize, and improve the health status of Americans with disabilities.”
For more information about NCPAD, please visit http://www.ncpad.org
Funding
The National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD) at the University of Illinois at Chicago is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), Disability and Health Branch
(Grant# 1U59DD000437).
