Achieving Effective Health Promotion for Women With Disabilities
Center for Research on Women with Disabilities and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
The field of health promotion has yet to acknowledge the unique needs of women with disabilities, a population representing approximately 1 of 5 women in the United States. Compared with women without disabilities, women with disabilities have critical needs for evidence-based health promotion services. Women with disabilities face a lack of access to multitudinous opportunities for maintaining and improving their overall health. Inaccessible exercise equipment and other disability-related barriers discourage women with physical disabilities from engaging in health-promoting behaviors. This article identifies 10 essential elements for achieving effective health promotion research and interventions for women in this population.