Expanding the Public Health Workforce
A future planning focus group report
About the Project
According to the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (ADDPC), “individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disability (I/DD) are, on average, living longer and more fulfilled lives than at any other time in history. Yet these individuals are also in certain ways victims of the system’s success, for as one emerges into ’elderhood’ daily needs – including basic life activities, healthcare (both physical and behavioral), housing, and communication – can change dramatically.”
Individuals with I/DD are challenged by their chronic medical conditions but also by stigma, discrimination, and exclusion. Their caregivers, including many who left the workforce, are themselves aging and experiencing social isolation and burnout. The aging process has a profound impact on the individual with I/DD and their caregiver(s) who need to manage uncertainty with fewer financial and social resources as they look to the future.
ADDPC contracted with Regional Center for Border Health, Inc. and the University of Arizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities to organize focus groups that would elicit the perspectives of individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD), their family members/caregivers, professionals in the I/DD service system, and other stakeholders to better understand:
- Needs, desires, and goals of Arizonans with I/DD as they enter their elder years (roughly defined as age 60 and above), giving attention to both physical and cognitive changes;
- State-funded or private services currently helping people with I/DD prepare for physical and cognitive changes they will experience in the future; and
- New or adapted systems needed to better support individuals with I/DD in the later years of their lives.
This final report summarizes the information collected during eight focus groups completed around Arizona, in rural and urban communities, during the summer/fall of 2023.
Contact
To learn more about this project, please contact Jacy Farkas at jkbell@arizona.edu.
This project was made possible through funding provided by the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, Contract No. RFGA #ADDPC-FFY19-SARSH-02. The Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,500,930 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. Council efforts are those of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government. The views expressed in written materials or publications and by any speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the ADDPC or the Administration for Community Living, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.