Grants and Funded Projects

Persons With Impaired Mobility: Transition To Adulthood
(National Institute of Nursing Research – R21 NR09362)
Principal Investigator: Lioness Ayres, PhD, RN

The purpose of this study is to develop a multidimensional transition styles typology for young adults with impaired mobility. Transition from adolescence to adulthood is a critical developmental passage in the lives of all young people but especially for those with impaired mobility. Contemporary young adults with mobility disorders are members of the first generation in which 90% or more of children born with severe disabilities survive to adulthood. In order to assist these young people to become successful adults, health care providers need research-based descriptions of the range of transition experiences that can identify those experiences associated with positive outcomes. Participants for this research will be recruited from health care, educational, and independent living agencies. The typology will be developed from qualitative and quantitative data, the bulk of which will be collected using an innovative, web-based, asynchronous message board. Structured instruments will measure quality of life, psychological well-being, social participation, and environmental factors that influence functioning. Persons with impaired mobility are underrepresented in research: Functional impairments may interfere with speech production, reduce the energy available for verbal interaction, or exacerbate social isolation. Web-based interviewing offers an opportunity for research participation previously unavailable to these individuals. At the same time, we will offer face-to-face interviews for those eligible participants for whole web-based data collection is unsuitable. A typology of transition styles will form the foundation for the development of programs, services, and interventions to facilitate successful transition and enhance quality of life and psychological well-being in this vulnerable group. The typology will improve care for persons with impaired mobility by giving clinicians, educators, and policy makers a framework to identify clients' potential strengths that they can utilize as well as indicators of potential risks, which will be easier to avoid. The research proposed lays the foundation for a program of research in transition for youth with physical disabilities.