Live Smart Live Safe: Emergency Prep. for People with Intellectual Disabilities

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Technological Assistance Institute for Intellectual Disability, Inc. proposes to develop a product line of public health and emergency preparedness education programs to meet the needs of people with disabilities, and the institutions and organizations that serve them. The LiveSmartLiveSafe (LSLS) programs will address material, behavioral, and emotional preparedness for public health, natural, and man-made disasters. The final result of this work will be the LSLS programs, consisting of CD-ROM, DVD, VHS, and pictorial-based workbook preparedness education and preparation programs designed for the unique learning needs of people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). The programs will be disseminated through public health and social service, public and private education institutions, and advocacy and support service agencies that assist youth and adults with disabilities as they move toward full inclusion and independence in communities across the Nation. Given the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) focus on biological and behavioral aspects of critical health problems that confront the Nation, this application addresses NINR priorities including a) improving health-related quality of life by preventing or delaying disease, b) establishing better approaches to promote health and prevent disease, b) promote interventions to eliminate health disparities, and c) to develop technologies to assist individuals in reducing environmental exposures (e.g., chemical and viral agents). Phase I of this application will develop and evaluate an interactive CD-ROM computer-based training program that addresses the transmission and avoidance of communicable diseases such as influenza. Along with the CD-ROM program, a pictorial-based workbook will be developed to accompany and support information conveyed via CD-ROM. We will work with two advisory panels to shape content and message presentation. One panel will consist of individuals with ID, and the second panel will consist of experts in the areas of public health, emergency preparedness, and ID. We will evaluate the Phase I prototype with 40 individuals with mild ID throughout the State of Oregon. Employing a pre-test post-test feasibility evaluation, paired t-tests will be used to analyze gains in knowledge. ANOVA will be used to analyze development of, or change in in-home personal health emergency preparedness kits. Most Americans rely on television, written materials, and the internet to learn about, and prepare for potential emergency situations. Although people with Intellectual Disabilities(ID) such as mild, or moderate mental retardation often watch television, most written materials, guidelines, and web-based resources that provide information about public health, natural, and man-made disasters rely heavily on text, and are inaccessible to people with mild or moderate ID.