Enhancing Community Living and Increasing Participation through Self Efficacy (Eclipse)

Independent functioning and successful community participation are among the most important goals of people with disabilities. Community living is a civil right that is enforced by the Americans with Disabilities Act and confirmed by case law. However, numerous barriers exist that prevent full integration into the community. In this 5-year project, the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern University, Access Living and key stakeholders will create a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Interventions to Promote Community Living among Individuals with Disabilities that will address many of these barriers. Our objectives are to evaluate and implement evidence-based interventions in real life community settings and to ensure sustainability of these activities in the community beyond the duration of this program. Our research will build on our previous work with peer health navigators. We will develop a social media-based mobile app to provide peer support and information sharing for people with disabilities transitioning to independent living. We also will investigate the implementation of a program of communication partner training.