The Special Olympics Systems Change in Inclusive Health Subgrants work to increase the inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in healthcare, health promotion, and disease prevention systems. Subgrant projects aim to change existing systems to improve health outcomes for people with IDD.
Ten organizations have been selected as recipients of the 2024 – 2025 Systems Change in Inclusive Health Subgrant, an increase from seven organizations in the previous funding year. Together, their reach spans the health ecosystem, and their exciting projects stand to improve health access for people with IDD!
The American Public Health Association (APHA) will leverage their extensive reach into the public health professional and student community to increase awareness and advocacy of the health disparities faced by people with IDD. In their second year of funding, APHA plans to deepen the integration of people with IDD into their broader health equity work through an educational session at the APHA annual conference in October, a panel at National Public Health Week in November, and discussions at the Policy Action Institute in June. Further, they plan to develop and disseminate resources on effective policies and practices for IDD inclusion, highlight the IDD community in APHA publications, and deepen their partnerships with the IDD community.
The Center for Nutrition & Health Impact is working to ensure cities and towns are built so all people, including people with IDD, can walk and move around their communities easily. They will revise the University of Arkansas Pathways to Connectivity toolkit for designing environments to be inclusive of the needs of people with IDD and disseminate the toolkit to national public health organizations.
Golisano Institute for Developmental Disability Nursing at St. John Fisher University aims to catalyze the adoption of IDD curricula in Advanced Practice Provider (APP) residency programs, such that every APP in the US is competent and confident to care for people with IDD. This year, the Golisano Institute will start by developing and evaluating three new residency modules on IDD, with early adopters of IDD-inclusive programming to influence the longer-term systemic change.
Good Nutrition Ideas (GNI) will continue promoting improved nutrition support for people with IDD in group homes. Using the input of community advisors gathered in year 1, GNI will begin to update and digitize the existing MENU-AIDDS (Materials supporting Education and Nutrition for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) program.
Health Outreach Partners plans to develop and facilitate learning sessions for community health centers in California to support the care of people with IDD by community health providers. Sessions will cover topics such as: navigating California’s health care coverage, social determinants of health, and trauma-informed care.
Medicaid Medicare CHIP Services Dental Association (MSDA) will continue their work to expand Medicaid dental program data systems to include the use of dental codes that document disease and disability. This data will allow state Medicaid dental programs to better understand health disparities. This year, MSDA will pilot the use of ICD-10 code in three states.
The National Task Group on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG) works to address misdiagnosis, inadequate treatment and care, and poor health outcomes. NTG will supplement CDC’s recently developed Guiding and Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model with additional information and training on how to support people with IDD.
The Sibling Leadership Network (SLN) will develop resources and provide support to siblings of people with IDD so they can be better prepared and supported when they take on caregiving roles in times of family crisis. Specifically, SLN plans to develop a community of practice with state chapters, create an advisory council, host online learning opportunities, and develop new resources.
Sound Generations performed a review of their existing evidence-based fitness program to assess IDD access during the 2023 – 2024 funding year. In their second year of funding, they plan to gamify their strength class and disseminate updated resources nationally.
The University of Montana plans to hold the first-ever Montana Inclusive Health, Nutrition, and Food Security Summit this November. The summit will convene people with disabilities, care providers, USDA funded nutrition program staff, and other experts in universal design and nutrition. The goal of the summit is to develop ideas and action steps to improve inclusivity at state and local health agencies, community organizations, and other service providers.
Visit the Systems Change in Inclusive Health Subgrants for more information.
Special Olympics anticipates opening the application cycle for the 2025 – 2026 Systems Change in Inclusive Health Subgrants in early 2025.
Contact inclusivehealth@specialolympics.org for more information.
