Category Archives: News

RTC:Rural produces fact sheet on employment disparity for rural people with disabilities

screen shot of the first page of the fact sheet. In December 2018 the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2013-2017 American Community Survey summary data. In the recently released fact sheet “Employment disparity grows for rural Americans with disability,” RTC:Rural researchers used this data to begin exploring how employment rates have changed for people with disabilities in the context of changing economic conditions. They found increasing disparities between people with and without disabilities across the country as well as across the rural-urban continuum.

Click the links below to download the fact sheet from the RTC:Rural and Rural Institute ScholarWorks collection:

Continue reading →

RTC:Rural researchers publish article on disability rates in Journal of Rural Health

Screenshot of the cover of the manuscript.

First page of the article “Transitory and Enduring Disability Among Urban and Rural People” in the Journal of Rural Health.

RTC:Rural researchers Dr. Rayna Sage, Dr. Bryce Ward, Andrew Myers, and Dr. Craig Ravesloot recently published an article in the Journal of Rural Health titled “Transitory and Enduring Disability Among Urban and Rural People.” Dr. Sage and Myers are RTC:Rural Project Directors, Dr. Ward is the RTC:Rural Statistician, and Dr. Ravesloot is RTC:Rural Director and Research Advisor.

Part of RTC:Rural’s continued research on the geography and ecology of rural disability (see Ecology of Rural Disability and Geography and Rural Disability), this article examines how disability rates vary by age, gender, and race between rural and urban places. While there has been some recent research on the intersection of disability and rurality, there is a lack of research on disability across the life span in rural places, and few studies include a measure of how people move in and out of disability over time. Continue reading →

Healthy Community Living Project Shares Stakeholder Engagement Practices for Online Conference

Center on Knowledge Translation for Disability & Rehabilitation Research at American Institutes for ResearchThe Center on Knowledge Translation for Disability and Rehabilitation Research (KTDRR) hosted its annual online conference on November 5, 7, and 9, 2018, titled “Engaging Ways to Engage Stakeholders.”  Spanning across the three days, the conference addressed strategies for how to plan, carry out, and measure the effectiveness of different knowledge translation (KT) approaches.

On day two of the conference, RTC:Rural’s Director of Knowledge Translation Tracy Boehm Barrett and RTC:Rural Project Director Tannis Hargrove presented on their work with the Healthy Community Living (HCL) project. Their presentation was titled “Co-creating With Stakeholders: A Case of Engaging Through Concept and Design for Program Development.” The presentation will be archived and made available on KTDRR’s website in early 2019. Continue reading →

Facilitators share rural barriers to participation in Living & Working Well programs in Peer-to-Peer Series call

A circle of clip art people surrounds the Living and Working Well with a Disability logo, Peer-to-Peer Series written underneath.Residents in rural areas can face many challenges and barriers to accessing services and programs, such as those offered by Centers for Independent Living (CILs). For many Centers that are located in or that serve rural communities, these barriers can mean low participation, which in turn can make it difficult to continue offering certain programs beyond core services. On the most recent Living and Working Well Facilitator Peer-to-Peer call, program facilitators discussed barriers to participation in their workshops such as fewer (or no) transportation options, competition for time, insufficient infrastructure, lack of supporting resources, and fewer outreach and recruitment opportunities. Continue reading →

APRIL members share input in RTC:Rural survey

First page of the APRIL Members Input Survey Summarized Results. Links in post to PDF and text-only versions.

Cover of the APRIL Members Input Survey Summarized Results. To view or download the full results, follow the links in the post.

At this year’s APRIL conference (See: Another great APRIL conference in the books!), RTC:Rural asked APRIL members to share their thoughts and ideas about what work is most important for rural Independent Living and research. We want to make sure our research leads to relevant and useful solutions for rural people with disabilities, and to do so we make sure to gather input from stakeholders as we plan, carry out, and share the results of our work.   Continue reading →

RTC:Rural presents at APHA annual conference on health equity

APHA 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo. San Diego, Nov. 10-14. Creating the Healthiest Nation: Health Equity NowRTC:Rural researchers recently traveled to San Diego, CA for the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting. The conference was from November 10 to 14, and theme was “Creating the Healthiest Nation: Health Equity Now.”

In attendance were RTC:Rural Director Dr. Catherine Ipsen, Director and Research Advisor Dr. Craig Ravesloot, Knowledge Broker Dr. Meg Ann Traci, and Project Directors Dr. Rayna Sage and Andrew Myers attended. Dr. Traci, Dr. Sage, and Myers gave a combined six presentations on Rural Institute and RTC:Rural research. Continue reading →

Researchers and project partners share perspectives on disability and the environment

Kelly, Troutman, Greiman, and Myers sit in the front of a room presenting. There is a slide projected above their heads with a map of disability rates across the U.S. Greiman speaks into a microphone.

From left to right, Bonnie Kelly, Bronwyn Troutman, Lillie Greiman, and Andrew Myers presenting as part of DiverseU 2018.

Rural Institute researchers and RTC:Rural project directors Lillie Greiman and Andrew Myers, along with community partners Bronwyn Troutman, Community Living Specialist, and Bonnie Kelly, Peer Advocate, from Summit Independent Living Center in Missoula co-presented a panel at the University of Montana as part of the DiverseU symposium. Their presentation was titled “Disability and the Socio-Political Environment.”

DiverseU is the University of Montana’s annual campus-wide diversity symposium. It is open to university students, staff, and community members, and features presentations, art exhibits, and guided discussions over the course of two days. DiverseU seeks to, “…explore the complexities of human experience, promote understanding, and create community through the practice of civil discourse,” according to the DiverseU website page. Continue reading →

Restricted Federal Data holds value for Rural Research

Headshot of Dr. Benjamin Cerf.

Photo from Dr. Cerf’s profile on www.census.gov.

On October 17, Dr. Benjamin Cerf, a Census Bureau research economist and the administrator of the Northwest Federal Statistical Research Data Center at the University of Washington in Seattle, presented information on accessing restricted federal data to University of Montana researchers. Thirty-six UM researchers and staff attended the two sessions, which were part of the University of Montana Faculty Professional Development Series hosted by the Faculty Development Office.

Following an invitation from Dr. Christiane von Reichert, a professor of Geography at UM, Dr. Cerf gave presentations on restricted business, demographic, and health data that can only be viewed at Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (RDCs) located in 29 locations throughout the country. Dr. von Reichert is an RTC:Rural research partner who is working with Dr. Cerf on a proposal to access restricted census data so she can further her research on disability at the household level. Continue reading →

RTC:Rural helps celebrate 40 years of NIDILRR

Lillie Greiman in front of research poster at the NIDILRR 40th anniversary celebration.

RTC:Rural Project Director Lillie Greiman in front of her poster titled “The Geography of Home for People with Disabilities” at the NIDILRR 40th anniversary celebration.

RTC:Rural Project Director Lillie Greiman traveled to Washington D.C. to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). First funded by NIDILRR in 1987, RTC:Rural is proud to have been awarded seven Rehabilitation Research and Training Program grants to conduct rural disability research and be part of the NIDILRR network over the past 30 years.

“It was inspiring to see all the cross discipline and cross disability work that NIDILRR is currently funding and to learn about all the work that was funded in the past,” said Greiman. “NIDILRR has had a profound impact on disability research over the years and will continue to do so into the future.” Continue reading →

RTC:Rural Supports Disability Employment Month

A man operates an ice cream truck at an outdoor farmers market. He is an amputee.

Picture from Healthy Community Living (www.healthycommunityliving.com).

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and RTC:Rural is celebrating efforts to support people with disabilities in rural communities as they work towards achieving their employment goals.

In addition to the economic benefits of employment, it is an important predictor of community participation and well-being. However, for people with disabilities, and especially in rural areas, employment is not always accessible. Not only are there physical barriers, such as inaccessible buildings and transportation, but there are also societal and attitudinal barriers. These barriers keep people with disabilities disconnected from important activities such as work, school, and community life, and contribute to increased social and economic inequality. Employment is one factor that helps to increase community participation. People who are employed report higher levels of community participation and feeling more socially connected than those who are not employed.

Continue reading →