OMRDD's IBR Scientists Awarded Grant for Health Education Project

STATEN ISLAND, NY (09/18/2008)(readMedia)-- Scientists from the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability’s (OMRDD) Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR) have been awarded a $150,000 grant from the Staten Island Foundation to conduct a two-year project to teach adults with intellectual disabilities how to lead healthier lifestyles, OMRDD Commissioner Diana Jones Ritter announced today.

The Supporting Healthy Lifestyles project, to be conducted in multiple group homes for adults with intellectual disabilities across Staten Island, will be led by Steve Holburn, PhD, and Christine Cea, PhD, of IBR’s Laboratory of Intervention Research. For the project, the scientists will implement IBR’s recently developed Health Advocacy Program multimedia curriculum.

Individuals with intellectual disabilities have been found to have poorer health than the general population. Dr. Holburn and Dr. Cea have observed that individuals with intellectual disabilities participating in a pilot implementation of the Health Advocacy Program curriculum demonstrated increased health knowledge and health advocacy skills. However, many individuals were unable to apply this information in their group homes because of factors such as limited access to healthier food choices, insufficient opportunities for exercise, and inadequate modeling by home support staff.

To address these concerns, the scientists will present the Health Advocacy Program curriculum in the participating group homes, teach group home support staff about healthy lifestyle practices and methods to enhance residents’ health advocacy, and facilitate organizational improvements that foster healthier lifestyles. The scientists will also develop and implement a complementary curriculum for support staff. The project will be conducted in collaboration with local voluntary residential provider agencies and the College of Staten Island.

“We are very pleased to have been awarded this grant from the Staten Island Foundation,” said Commissioner Ritter. “Projects like these have allowed OMRDD to remain cutting-edge in providing supports and services for individuals with developmental disabilities.”

“We are grateful to the Staten Island Foundation for their generous support. We look forward to our collaboration in this borough-wide initiative,” said Dr. Cea, “And we are excited about the prospect of working with agencies across Staten Island to improve the health practices of people with intellectual disabilities.”

“This is an exciting project, and we are proud to offer it to citizens on Staten Island,” said Dr. Holburn. “Greater awareness of health and wellness is a first step, but true success is realized with healthier lifestyles and achievement of personal health goals. When this occurs, we feel empowered, and the process cycles upwards.”

“The Staten Island Foundation is pleased that our support of IBR will provide critical training to staff to improve the health of vulnerable Staten Islanders,” said Betsy Dubovsky, Executive Director of the Foundation. “IBR is helping our community by providing professional development that benefits the home support workforce as well as the people they serve.”

About OMRDD/IBR and the Staten Island Foundation:

The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) provides high-quality services, supports and advocacy to approximately 140,000 individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. OMRDD works with a network of nearly 800 not-for-profit providers to help people with developmental disabilities lead richer lives that include meaningful relationships, good health, personal growth and productivity and homes in their communities. Located in Staten Island, NY, the Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities is a facility of the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) that conducts research into the causes and prevention of developmental disabilities.

The Staten Island Foundation, established in December 1997 by the former Staten Island Savings Bank, is an independent, private foundation whose mission is to improve the quality of life on Staten Island, particularly for the least advantaged, with a focus on improving education, human services and the arts.

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