Abstract

Do you ever wonder why disability research is often irrelevant to your needs or the needs of others with disabilities?

If you do, then this presentation is for you! We will explain the basics of Participatory Action Research (PAR) so that you will have a better idea of how to influence disability research to better meet your needs. Specifically, the session will define PAR and provide a brief history of how it started. We will discuss how PAR has been applied with different research questions and populations. Next, we will discuss the benefits and challenges of implementing PAR into the research process. We'll briefly describe strategies that consumers and researchers can use to carry out PAR-influenced disability research. We will share some actual examples of how PAR has been used at our Research and Training Center on Full Participation in Independent Living. Finally, this presentation will explore future directions for PAR. Your questions and comments will be welcome during specific Q&A intervals during this presentation. We are looking forward to you joining us for this exciting Webcast!