Tag Archives: geography

Restricted Federal Data holds value for Rural Research

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 40^th 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 →

Rural Institute shares knowledge on disability as part of UM public health graduate seminar

University of Montana School of public & Community health sciences logo

Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities (RIIC) staff, students, and community partners will be participating in a series of presentations at the University of Montana as part of the School of Public & Community Health Sciences seminar program for students, staff and faculty. The 16 week graduate seminar is part of UM’s Public Health doctoral program aimed to educate and equip students with the skills and expertise to improve public health at the community level and around the world. Continue reading →

Disability rates in the path of Hurricane Florence

Understanding the needs of a community is imperative in order to effectively plan for natural disaster emergency response. As Hurricane Florence continues to impact the Southeast coast, national, state and local community emergency planners are working to evacuate and shelter thousands of people who are fleeing their homes.

People with disabilities are one of many vulnerable groups especially at risk during natural disasters. In times of emergency, people will evacuate with their households, and will need to shelter with their households. It is not acceptable to separate families and households in times of crisis. Many family members are caregivers, so shelters need to be accessible so that people with disabilities and their families and caregivers can stay together. Continue reading →

RTC:Rural sponsors workshops on restricted-access federal data

RTC:Rural, along with the University of Montana (UM) Department of Geography and the UM Faculty Development Office, is pleased to sponsor a workshop series for the UM research community on accessing restricted federal statistical research data. Funding has been provided by the Office of the Vice-President for Research and Creative Scholarship. Dr. Ben Cerf, a Census Bureau research economist and the administrator of the Northwest Federal Statistical Research Data Center at the University of Washington in Seattle, will present the workshops. The workshops will be held on October 17, 2018, at the University of Montana.

Dr. Christiane von Reichert.

Dr. Christiane von Reichert, professor of Geography at UM and an RTC:Rural research partner, was instrumental in bringing Dr. Cerf to campus. von Reichert has been in communication with Dr. Cerf about seeking access to restricted data to examine whether or not urban-rural migration is a factor contributing to higher rural than urban disability rates. Continue reading →

New video demonstrates how to use American FactFinder to lookup disability data

Cropped image of map of the United States. Map title: Disability in America: Employed with a Disability (2015).

To see the full image of this map, click here to go to the Maps of Disability and Employment- Disability in America Map series webpage.

Here at RTC:Rural, we’re into big data sets. We regularly use large national data sets, including the American Housing Survey, the American Time Use Survey, and other US Census data in our research. For example, our Geography project uses data from the American Community Survey to create these maps: Geography and Rural Disability Maps.

What do we do with these data? Disability data can be used to gain a better understanding of a community and service outreach areas, to inform policy development, or to build community outreach materials. Our researchers analyze these data so that we can help inform decisions that affect the quality of life for people with disabilities across the nation, in both rural and urban areas. Primarily, RTC:Rural analyzes disability data to identify county-level trends across the nation.

Want to look up some data for your own research, advocacy, or programs? We’ve got you covered. Whether you’re looking for national, regional, state, or county-level data, you can use these two tools to help you find the information you’re looking for. Continue reading →

RTC:Rural heads to NOLA for annual Geographers conference

RTC:Rural Research Associates Andrew Myers and Lillie Greiman are headed to New Orleans, Louisiana, next week to present their research at the 2018 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting. They will be joined by University of Montana graduate student Kourtney Johnson, who has worked closely with Greiman on RTC:Rural research. The conference is April 10-14, 2018, and features more than 6,000 presentations, posters, workshops, and field trips.

Myers is one of the three directors on the Disability Specialty Group, an AAG subgroup that focuses on addressing accessibility issues. This year, the group worked to increase the accessibility of the conference, including creating a page on the conference website with accessibility information, where conference-goers can request accommodations. The page also includes information about accessible transportation in New Orleans and tips for traveling with a disability.

“Our big point is that these things help everyone, not just people with disabilities,” said Myers. Continue reading →

RTC:Rural researchers to present at annual NARRTC conference

RTC:Rural researchers are headed to Arlington, VA later this month to present at the 40^th annual National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (NARRTC) conference.

This conference provides an annual opportunity for grantees of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) to come together and share their latest research findings, training, and knowledge translation methodologies. This year’s conference theme is “Shaping the Future.”

RTC:Rural researchers will share their research in four presentations on the first day of the two-day conference. Continue reading →

Rural Disability and Solution-Focused Research

Would you like to know more about RTC:Rural’s recent research results and solutions? We’ve produced two research summaries that provide an overview of our community-based research. Our projects integrate disability stakeholder collaboration to develop evidence-based solutions that are relevant, appropriate, and respond to the unique needs of people with disabilities living in rural communities.

The Executive Summary provides an abbreviated overview of some of RTC:Rural’s current research findings, as well as some of the products, tools, and solutions that have been developed in response to those findings and the needs of people with disabilities in rural communities. View an accessible PDF of the two-page RTC:Rural Executive Summary below:

Two-page Executive Summary: RTC:Rural- Research that Leads to Solutions for Rural Americans with Disabilities (PDF)

The Research Summary provides a detailed overview of RTC:Rural’s current research findings in the following domains:

Geography and Rural Disability, including: the geography of disability in rural America and access to Centers for Independent Living
Health and Rural Disability, including: the rural disability penalty, transitory and enduring disability, rural healthcare access, and Healthy Community Living
Rural Community Living, including: home usability and community participation, accessibility and participation, participation in rural events, self-advocacy, and rural transportation
Employment, including: self-employment, premature exit from the VR system, rural contracted services, and increasing employment outcomes through telecommunications and online strategies

10-page Research Summary: RTC:Rural Research Summary_2017 (PDF)

Through our research, RTC:Rural uncovers relationships among personal and environmental factors that influence quality of life. We incorporate these relationships into our research agenda and utilize stakeholders to help us understand them. Our projects integrate disability stakeholder collaboration to develop solution-focused results that are both relevant and appropriate for intended rural audiences. Through a shared understanding of rural contexts, we work to engage regional and national disability leaders in sharing understanding of how emerging policies impact rural communities and to help understand and prepare for challenges coming in the future.

RTC:Rural researchers author blog post for National Disability Institute

RTC:Rural Research Associates Dr. Rayna Sage and Lillie Greiman recently co-authored a post on the National Disability Institute Blog.

On the left, Dr. Rayna Sage stands in front of a rodeo enclosure; on the right, Lillie Greiman points at a map on a poster and discusses the map with a woman standing in front of her.

Dr. Raya Sage (left) at a rodeo in Ronan, Montana; and Lillie Greiman (right) sharing RTC:Rural research at a recent conference.

In their post, they explore relationships between disability, poverty, the labor market, healthcare costs, and housing influences. The following is an excerpt from the beginning of their post:

“There is a well-established and stubborn correlation between disability and poverty. The link between these two social phenomena creates challenges for people with disabilities, service providers, researchers, and advocates across the United States.

At the Research and Training Center on Disabilities in Rural Communities (RTC: Rural), we see this relationship as dynamic, contextual, and rooted in environmental conditions. In fact, looking at a map of poverty and disability across counties in the United States, it is clear that where you live matters for how you may experience both disability and poverty.”

Follow the link below to read the full post on the National Disability Institute blog:

Poverty and Disability: At the Intersection of Place and Policy

A wheelchair in the snow.

Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities