Strategies for Underserved Groups

Often in disability research, the ranks of underserved groups include people with disabilities who are also members of racial, ethnic, or cultural minority groups. It seems reasonable to expect research involving issues faced by people with disabilities to reflect an understanding of these cultural and racial differences. This, unfortunately, is not always the case with disability research, although some NIDRR-funded research is directly targeted at issues of cultural and racial difference and its influence on the lives of people with disabilities. Often dissemination strategies do not take into consideration the special factors that enhance the utility of disability research by minority group target audience members.

To investigate this area, the NCDDR will establish a Multicultural Research and Dissemination Task Force composed of disability researchers and users who are also members of minority groups. The Task Force will identify multicultural issues in research and dissemination (R & D), describe barriers to the use of research results by underrepresented groups and suggest strategies for improvements concerning minority group R & D issues, including the following:

• assist in identifying research data, documentation, products, and other information resulting from NIDRR research activities that reflect multicultural-related issues
• evaluate the scope of identified NIDRR research outcomes as related to all people with disabilities and their families, but especially those focusing on issues of race, ethnicity, underservice and underrepresentation
• develop recommendations for dissemination strategies that will encourage the use of disability research results by underrepresented groups
• assist in developing plans and measuring the progress of the NCDDR in terms of its objectives to facilitate the dissemination of useful disability research outcomes to minority persons with disabilities and their families

Source:
Independent living research. (1994). Rehab BRIEF, XVI, No. 4.

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