New Advisory Board Adds Disability POV to Research
Kelie Hess leads the advisory board.
Research has long been performed on and around disability topics, often without asking for perspectives from people with disabilities. Now, an IDRPP advisory board seeks to change that.
“The Partners in Disability Research Advisory Board … recognized that research around disability was being done, but it didn't always include the perspective of people who actually have disabilities,” said Kelie Hess, who leads the new board. “So IDRPP leadership said, ‘Let's develop an advisory board for people with disabilities.’
“It seems like an obvious move, but from my understanding, it's not a common practice,” Hess said.
People with disabilities make up a significant part of the population; an estimated 1 in 4 people Utahns have a disability.
Hess works at IDRPP’s Center for Employment and Inclusion. There, she noticed that in general, researchers in the field of employment for people with disabilities didn’t always seek the point of view of those most affected by their recommendations. Instead, they spoke to other researchers and professionals in the field.
The group will begin by advising researchers within IDRPP. “Researchers at the Disability Institute will bring aspects of their research to the group and ask them for specific feedback, maybe on questions that they're developing, or that they'll use in a survey that will go out to collect data,” Hess said.
The hope is to eventually advise researchers more broadly, both on topics that touch disability, and in general. “Any kind of research, even if it's not specific to disability, would benefit from the perspective of people with disabilities,” Hess said. “I think including that aspect of lived experience only improves and expands the work that is being done. … It's a way for people with disabilities to advocate for other people with disabilities in a different and new way. To give some influence on that research … and hopefully push programs and services forward.”
To find out more about the Partners in Disability Advisory Board, visit their webpage or contact Kelie Hess.