Amanda Botticello, PhD, MPH, from Kessler Basis obtained a $4.5 million federal grant to advance spinal cord injury analysis, particularly to generate actionable details about how communities form the incapacity expertise.
The five-year grant was awarded by the Nationwide Institute on Incapacity, Unbiased Dwelling, and Rehabilitation Analysis (NIDILRR) for a examine titled “The Context of Dwelling with Spinal Cord Injury: A Program of Collaborative Analysis Advancing the Science of Environmental Elements and Incapacity.”
The analysis staff is led by Dr. Botticello, affiliate director within the Basis’s Heart for Outcomes and Evaluation Analysis and an investigator for the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury Mannequin System. Different key scientists with a serious function on this venture embody Lauren Murphy, PhD, Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD; Denise Fyffe, PhD; Anthony Lequerica, PhD; and Vikram Shenoy, PhD.
The aim of this venture is to review how the place somebody lives shapes their incapacity expertise. The data we acquire will inform ongoing coverage efforts to make public locations extra accessible and to make sure social inclusion for individuals with disabilities.”
Dr. Amanda Botticello, PhD, MPH, Kessler Basis
The circumstances within the locations the place individuals reside, work, and socialize have a strong impact on well being. For individuals with spinal cord injury, neighborhood circumstances can have an effect on employment alternatives, healthcare entry, and impartial residing. “Sadly, many neighborhood locations stay inaccessible, inserting individuals with spinal cord injury in danger for poor outcomes,” stated Dr. Botticello.
The examine’s targets are to:
- Enhance the capability of the nationwide SCI Mannequin Techniques (SCIMS) database to conduct ongoing analysis on geographic disparities in outcomes by creating the SCIMS-Environmental Elements Datasets (SCIMS-EFD)
- Generate strong estimates of geographic, racial/ethnic, and rural-urban well being disparities utilizing the SCIMS-EFD
- Determine the processes that form well being disparities by participating with individuals with spinal cord injury as they navigate neighborhood locations utilizing smartphones and wearable expertise
Anticipated outcomes of the examine embody a database useful resource that can enhance the surveillance of the wants of the spinal cord injury inhabitants carried out by the SCIMS program. “Mixed with the knowledge gained immediately from individuals with spinal cord injury about environmental limitations they encounter in every day life, the brand new database useful resource will assist rehabilitation professionals and policymakers decide the place to focus on sources to assist enhance the lives of individuals with spinal cord injury,” she stated, including, “They could focus their efforts on deprived teams, deprived communities, or each.”
The collaborating websites embody Craig Hospital (Englewood, CO), Baylor Scott & White Analysis Institute (Dallas, TX), and the College of Alabama – Birmingham.
Discussion about this post