CIL-Based Abuse Education and Safety Planning Program for Women with Disabilities

Rosemary Hughes, PhD
(406) 243-2898
To contact Dr. Hughes by email go to our Staff Directory

Offers: Information Dissemination and Training

Description: This project developed an eight-session group safety awareness program for women with diverse disabilities (ASAP for Women) in collaboration with eleven centers for independent living (CILs). It is expected that a group of women with disabilities who have access to traditional CIL services, plus participate in ASAP for Women, would report greater improvements on measures of safety awareness, safety self-efficacy, abuse and safety knowledge, safety promoting behaviors, social support, and safety skills after the intervention and at three-month follow-up, compared to a group of women with disabilities who participate in a program of traditional CIL services only. Preliminary findings suggest ASAP for Women may be a promising method for enhancing safety among women with disabilities.

Partnering with People with Developmental Disabilities to Address Violence

Rosemary Hughes, PhD
(406) 243-2898
To contact Dr. Hughes by email go to our Staff Directory

Offers: Information Dissemination

Description: The “Partnering” project involves three interrelated studies conducted over three years: 1) the Measurement Adaptation Study will adapt measures of violence and health to increase their understandability and accessibility to people with developmental disabilities; 2) the Disability, Violence, and Health Survey, which utilizes the adapted measures in a computerized survey of 400 people with developmental disabilities from both rural areas of Montana and urban settings in Oregon, will investigate the associations of disability characteristics and contextual factors on risk for violence and the health outcomes and impact of violence; 3) the Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Evaluation Study will examine the processes and outcomes of involving individuals with developmental disabilities in all phases of violence research.

Randomized Field-Test of the Internet-Based Safer and Stronger Program for Women with Disabilities

Rosemary Hughes, PhD
(406) 243-2898
To contact Dr. Hughes by email go to our Staff Directory

Offers: Information Dissemination and Training

Description: Portland State University holds the primary grant and the work by the University of Montana on the project is funded via subcontract and involves a randomized, controlled trial to test the efficacy of the internet-based Safer and Stronger Program (SSP) with 390 women with diverse disabilities to be recruited by centers for independent living in Montana, Arkansas, and Arizona. The single-session SSP provides information about interpersonal violence, risk factors, and safety-promoting strategies while integrating survivor stories and affirming narration.

It is expected that results from this study will have significant policy implications for the safety and well-being of women with disabilities and Deaf women.