The ON TRAC project has worked over the last three plus years to improve the quality of health care for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). The project has partnered transition age youth and young adults with disabilities, families and direct service providers, and clinicians to improve knowledge and self-advocacy skills around health care for individuals with IDD. The overall purpose is to reduce health disparities, enhance self-determination, and community integration and participation.
Objectives, Activities and Outcomes:
- Support and empower people with disabilities and caregivers to self-advocate about their health.
- Train self-advocates, family members and their direct support providers (DSP) using the “Taking Charge of My Health” curriculum adapted for Iowa.
- Engage families and other audiences in learning about the spectrum of options for supported decision making and alternatives to guardianship.
- Share information and resources that promote access to quality health care for people with IDD in communities of their choice.
- Pilot the IntelectAbility “Curriculum in IDD Healthcare” within University of Iowa Family Medicine
- Develop EPIC tools and templates.
- Offer mini grants to agencies and providers to support them to improve access to quality care for people with IDD.
- Train people with IDD and their allies in community health worker roles to work as peers in health care settings and with health care services.
- A cohort of IDD allies complete the Community Health Worker (CHW) curriculum and provide feedback to the Iowa Chronic Care Consortium from a disability lens.
- Support a group of self-advocates to take the CHW course and become CHWs as peers of people with IDD.
Outcomes:
- People with IDD, families and DSPs have improved communication with health care providers and increased knowledge of health care systems.
- People with IDD, families and DSPs gain skills to support people with IDD to navigate health systems.
- Health care staff have increased knowledge of health issues impacting people with IDD and best practices for providing quality care.
- People with IDD have access to health care in communities of their choice.
Meet Our Team:
- Tammie Amsbaugh
- Meghan Connett, MD
- Mitch DeFauw
- Edward Esbeck
- Dayrin Lovan
- Joanna Sabha
- Judy Warth