In the last grant funding cycle, the NWADA used a community-building model called the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) to examine and address barriers to ADA implementation in rural health care settings. The CEI projects provided a starting point for expanding the knowledge base on access to health care for people with disabilities. To further understand and address health care access issues, the NWADA Center’s research project is focused on health care access and the ADA and targets adults with all types of disabilities within the four state northwest region (AK, ID, OR, WA). The project involves three phases: 1) scoping review that serves to characterize existing evidence on health care and the ADA, and inform subsequent survey design 2) survey to explore ADA-related barriers experienced by individuals with disabilities in accessing health care, and 3) Delphi study to identify effective approaches to improving ADA-related health care access for people with disabilities. The research questions include the following:
