The ultimate goal for disability legislation, rehabilitation programs, research, and consumers is full participation. As such, it is central to the ecological theory of disability, which describes participation as the interaction between person and environmental factors. Our Pain Interference Patterns research is designed to increase understanding of how personal factors like pain interact with environmental barriers like physical accessibility to influence community participation in adults with mobility and sensory impairments living in the community.
The project includes two studies. The first is a population-based longitudinal study of individuals with disabilities living with pain. Survey data will be collected at four intervals across an 18 month time span to analyze general patterns of pain intensity, environmental barriers and participation. We have completed the first two waves of data collection and preliminary models indicate that factors like average pain levels, pain coping style, and barriers in the community account for 12% of the variance in participation after controlling for disability type.
The second study includes an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) measure of participation that provides a more dynamic picture of causal factors. Using EMA methods, participants complete multiple data points about pain, barriers, and participation as they occur, across time and situations. Our hope is that EMA methods will better assist researchers and practitioners in evaluating the dynamic interplay of personal and environmental factors, leading to improved participation interventions, including medical rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, and independent living.
- Project dates: 2011-2014
- Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Grant No. H133G110077
- Principal staff: Craig Ravesloot, Ph.D., Catherine Ipsen, Ph.D., Tannis Hargrove, M.S., Lillie Grieman, M.A.
- Related projects:
- Consumer Self-Managed Use of Rural Healthcare Services
- Ecological Decision Support for Health Promotion
- Health Plans to Employment
- Living Well with a Disability
- Peer Support for Rural Mental Health
- Peer Support for Secondary Mental Health Conditions
- Secondary Conditions
- Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to Measure Participation
- Working Well with a Disability
Links to Project Publications Available on UMScholarWorks:
Links to Scholarly Articles and Abstracts:
An investigation into the temporal scaling of community participation measurement