The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Institute for Human Development is launching new branding and a new website for its Missouri Disability and Health Program (MODHP). The website will launch July 1.
The MODHP is funded by the CDC’s Disability and Health Promotion Branch, along with 9 other states, and aims to reduce health disparities experienced by adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and adults with mobility limitations (ML) in Missouri.
In 2022, the MODHP conducted a statewide needs assessment to identify gaps in information, resources, and barriers to preventative healthcare services and health promotion programs among adults with IDD and adults with mobility limitations. Reported barriers included:
- Cost of health promotion activities
- Limited accessible services, health care, and recreational activities in rural areas
- Provider shortages
The MODHP is addressing these needs through the following initiatives:
- Health Linkages – A free health program for adults with IDD to link them with community health care and health promotion resources based on their assessed unmet needs
- Living Well in the Community - A ten-week workshop grounded in Independent Living philosophy that can help people set and achieve quality-of-life goals while building skills to support health and wellness. The workshop helps adults with disabilities develop healthy living habits to live a meaningful, rich life.
- Health Care Provider Training – This online self-paced training, developed by the New Hampshire Disability and Health State Program, aims to improve the capacity of healthcare providers to better care for people with disabilities (free CMEs available).
- Policy, System, and Environmental Changes – The project team partners with Missouri Alliance of YMCAs (MO YMCA) and local Y sites to identify and implement changes within their facilities that improve accessibility and promote inclusion for all.
MODHP is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through grant CDC-RFA-DD21-2103: Improving the Health of People with Mobility Limitations and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities through State-based Public Health Programs awarded to UMKC Institute for Human Development, UCEDD.
