Examples of state campaigns that work to include people with disabilities in public health efforts

1. Healthy Living for All:
How Sixby'15 Campaign Works
to Include People with
Disabilities in Public Health
http://sixbyfifteen.org/
www.aucd.org
Adriane K. Griffen, MPH, MCHES
Director of Public Health
Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)

2. http://sixbyfifteen.org/
#6by15
@AUCDNews
@adrianegriffen

3. 6 Goals to Achieve by ‘15
http://sixbyfifteen.org/

4. Healthy Living Goal
• At least six states commit to including people with
disabilities as an explicit target population in all state
public health programs
• Based on New York State Department of Health
efforts
• Collaboration with partners: National Association of
County and City Heath Officials, Special Olympics

5. Healthy Living Goal
Collaboration with National Partners
National Association of County and City Heath Officials

6. Program Goal:
Promote the successful inclusion and engagement of people with
disabilities in all health department programs, products and
services.
Program Activities:
-Fellowship Program
-Technical Assistance Program
-Disability Workgroup
-Fact Sheets/Success Stories
-Assessment of inclusive practices
Current Projects:
Facilitating discussions between state and local health departments
1100 17th St NW
Washington, DC 20036

7. Healthy Living Goal
Collaboration with State Partners
Michigan
Rhode Island
Delaware
Ohio

8. Personal Action Toward Health (PATH)
• PATH is Michigan’s name for Stanford’s Chronic Disease
Self-Management Program, an evidence-based six week
health promotion workshop.
• PATH focuses on managing your health,
not on a particular diagnosis; it can be
used to manage living with a disability, a
chronic condition, a mental illness, or a
combination of these – the content is
already inclusive.

9. Why did we choose PATH?
• A statewide implementation network for PATH already
existed – we knew we could reach many people with
disabilities (PWD) if the workshops were fully accessible.
• While the content cannot be changed, there is plenty of
room for access and accommodation in the way the
workshop is implemented. We don’t change the content –
we accommodate the people.
• We want people with disabilities to have equal access to a
program we know works.

10. Our strategies for inclusion
• Expect accessibility from leaders, and give them the tools
to make it happen (like training and checklists). It’s
important for leaders to feel they know what to do.
• Talk about access frequently, not just once. It’s a learning
process.
• Hold workshops where the people are – drop-in centers,
CILs, etc.
• Encourage PWD to take the workshops in their own
communities. We developed targeted marketing materials
so people know “this is for me too!”
• Increase the numbers of PATH leaders who are PWD.

11. The results?
Roughly half of PATH participants in Michigan
are people with disabilities.
• We have created a manual for inclusion that is in it’s final
draft stages, to help leaders ensure accessibility. A
webcast for inclusions can also be found at:
http://breeze.mdch.train.org/accessandinclusion/.
• A checklist for accessibility was created with help from
Angela Weaver in Oregon, and can be found at:
http://midisabilityhealth.org/documents/Brief-Checklist-
for-Accessible-Health-Promotion-Workshops.pdf

12. Health Promotion
Rhode Island’s Disability & Health Program has made
Healthy Lifestyles workshops available to young
adults with disabilities ages 14-26 since fall 2012.
Highlights:
• Trained nearly 100 young adults in evidence-based
• Cross-walked curriculum with the Common Core
Standards in order to be eligible for high school
health credits

13. Policy Initiative

14. In January 2015, the Center for
Disabilities Studies and the
Department of Health and Social
Services released the Plan to
Achieve Health Equity for
Delawareans with Disabilities.
www.gohdwd.org/doc
uments/healthequitypl
an0215.pdf
“With the release of this plan, I want to
establish health equity for people with
disabilities as a department-level
priority.”
- Secretary Rita Landgraf

15. In July 2015, Sec.
Landgraf
announced Policy
Memo #70 – the
Inclusion Policy.
New policy will address:
• Contracts
• Advisory Boards and
Committees
• DHSS Program Access
• Data Collection and
Reporting
• Protection of Health
Information
• Training

16. Disability Inclusion – Ohio
• Disability Health Policy Specialist housed at Ohio
Department of Health’s Office of Health Policy and
Performance Improvement
– Strategic move to increase disability capacity at ODH
• ODH’s Tobacco Quit Line Campaign
– Aimed at the disability community
– 2 Posters, 1 Brochure
– Media Campaign from April 2015 – June 2015 in
Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, & Toledo
(5 major urban cities)

17. Disability Inclusion – Ohio
• Emergency Preparedness
– Two online disability trainings for first responders and
emergency planners
– Personal preparedness training for PWD/Caregivers
• Mammography Facilities Assessment
– Conducted ADA-based mammography facilities assessments at
mammography facilities across the state
– Provided multiple mammography technicians trainings on
working with women with disabilities across the state
• Healthy Lifestyles
– Implemented evidence-based health promotion program tailored
for people with disabilities throughout the state in different
settings

18. Healthy Living Goal
• At least six states commit to including people with
disabilities as an explicit target population in all state
public health programs
– How did we do?
• Our next steps: Shift to focus on including
people with disabilities as a health equity issue

19. Your Next Steps
1. Start using…
Public Health is for Everyone:
An inclusive planning toolkit for public
health professionals
19
www.phetoolkit.org
2. Give feedback…
Including People with Disabilities-
Public Health Workforce Competencies
www.aucd.org/competencies

20. #publichealth #4all
@AUCDNews
@adrianegriffen
3. Stay in touch
Adriane K. Griffen, DrPH (c), MPH, MCHES
Director of Public Health
Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)
1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 240-821-9374
Email: agriffen@aucd.org
Web: www.aucd.org