National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability Web Site
The National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability has a mission to improve health behaviors and weight management for children and adults with disabilities. The Web site (http://www.ncpad.org) is supported by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and managed by the University of Alabama and Lakeshore Foundation Research Collaborative. The majority of the Web site is focused on providing information related to exercise, physical activity, and nutrition, specifically for individuals with various chronic health conditions and disability levels, who may have difficulty participating in traditional exercise programs.
The home page contains links to numerous articles with diagnosis-specific advice for increasing participation in exercise, wellness, and improving nutrition. A wide range of both mental and physical health conditions are covered in the articles, from arthritis and autism, to spinal cord and brain injuries. Links are also provided for articles about community physical activity program development and competitive sports. For those less familiar with exercise, a fact sheet describing various exercise techniques and methods such as aquatic therapy and tai chi is also available.
On the home page, individuals will also find links to an adaptive fitness program that includes both aerobic and resistive exercise. The program has 3 levels, and has been adapted to accommodate a multitude of functional abilities. The three levels target individuals who have the use of all four limbs, individuals who have the use of upper body including some core muscles, and individuals with a limited use of upper body and core muscles. This exercise program is updated weekly with new exercises, although it is currently unclear who actually develops the exercise program. The weekly program relies on the use of standard fitness equipment. For those who do not have access to the necessary equipment, links are available to a 14-week program that is customized on the basis of responses to questions concerning physical ability and available equipment.
While the Web site is a wealth of information with many good articles and fitness programs, it is sometimes both troublesome to navigate and difficult to find specific content. For example, under Articles, there is a long list subheadings with a number of redundancies, including Spinal Cord Injury, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia, and Tetraplegia. Furthermore, the system for allocating articles between these categories is not clear. The design of the Web site is also text-heavy, requiring a large amount of time and scrolling to find specific content. In addition, it appears that the online shop where books and DVDs focused on exercise for those with various diagnoses were previously available for purchase is now closed due to "administrative reasons." There is no current indication whether or when these items will be available for purchase. It is also unclear how often the Web site is updated. The articles posted on the Web site span 13 years, with publication dates from 2001 to 2013, but it is unclear whether older articles are removed as newer information becomes available. The Web site was updated in 2013 (no specific date provided).
In summary, this Web site is most likely to be beneficial for people with disability who are looking for information about exercise and a specific diagnosis or those who wish to use the customized exercise plans. Given the time-consuming nature of finding information on the site, it may be a beneficial but frustrating site for individuals to visit. (Last accessed March 7, 2013).
Odessa Addison PT, DPT
University of Utah,
Salt Lake City, Utah
American Association on Health and Disability Web Site
The American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) has a Web site designed to improve awareness of chronic health conditions and promote wellness for people with chronic disease and disability (http://www.aahd.us/). Membership is available to interested individuals for a fee and includes a subscription to the Disability and Health Journal, access to a listserve containing the latest research and policy information, and a quarterly newsletter. Membership fees are also used to support efforts on Capitol Hill for individuals with chronic disability, through education and promotion of public health initiatives to members of Congress and the public.
In addition to the fee-based services, there are a number of free resources on the Web site. Current evidence is presented for a number of topics, with dates ranging from 1997 to 2012. Abstracts are available on 32 different chronic health conditions as well as best practice guidelines for 29 topics, such as assistive technology, healthcare transition, and obesity. This section is easy to navigate and provides valuable guidelines, educational information, and evidence on health promotion and quality of life for those with chronic health conditions.
There is also a "News" section, which provides links to numerous recent media articles from 2012 to 2013 about a wide variety of topics. The "News" section is separated by week and is easily navigable by the user to search and find links of interest. There are also links to Webinars from 2011 to 2013 that have been presented on various disability-related topics. This section has topics ranging from health care reform to disease prevention and is a good educational resource for clinicians, educators, and people with chronic health conditions.
The AAHD is involved in a number of different initiatives as well as public policy. The Web site provides valuable information for members and prospective members who may be interested in knowing what their membership fees are helping to support. The Public Policy Center outlines the legislative agenda for the AAHD and provides links to contact members of Congress. The "Initiatives" section provides a number of useful links, including resources for emergency preparedness for individuals with chronic health conditions.
Another valuable tool on this Web site is the "Site-Wide Disability Research Tags" section. This section has links to information about many conditions and topics related to health promotion. For example, if an individual wanted to learn more about diabetes, a click on the "Diabetes" tab would results in 4 pages of links, including abstracts, best practice guidelines, and news articles on different aspects of diabetes. This is a beneficial resource for individuals who may be visiting this Web site, seeking information about a specific topic.
Overall, this Web site provides valuable, accurate, and current information related to chronic health conditions that may be useful to clinicians, educators, caregivers, and individuals with chronic disease and disability. The Web site is easy to navigate and is set up in an intuitive manner. Some of the resources (eg, Best Practice, Fact Sheets, Abstracts) do not appear to have been updated recently, and there is no indication on the Web site of how frequently information is updated. (Last accessed February 28, 2013)
Brady Whetten, DPT
Northwest Rehabilitation Associates
Salem, Oregon
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Disability and Health Web Site
The Disabilities and Health subpage (http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth) of the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is jointly sponsored by the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. If one were not to remember the entire name, then a broader search should begin with http://cdc.gov and this subpage can be easily accessible under multiple categories, such as healthy living and/or disabilities. This page is primarily a springboard to multiple other Web pages providing deeper resources for people with disability, clinicians, caregivers, students, teachers, and researchers. The intent of the page is to provide information to various stakeholders on disabilities and health and healthy living with a disability. The following topics can be accessed: (1) healthy living for individuals with disabilities, (2) basics (types of disabilities), (3) data and statistics on disabilities, (4) scientific articles, (5) emergency preparedness, (6) resources and materials, (7) partners and programs, (8) about the CDC, (9) information for you (people with disabilities, women, health care providers, family caregivers, and partners), (10) disability and obesity, and (11) personal stories.
The CDC Disability and Health page is a great beginning resource to launch a search for information about disabilities and health. This Web page was last updated on January 30, 2013. However, since its purpose is to provide links to other pages, one needs to look at the content update for the pages beyond. For example, clicking on "data and statistics" takes the user to a page that was last updated on December 16, 2011, and the graphs represent data from 2008. Despite some pages that have not been updated recently, browsing through further links on the data and statistics page provides access to graphs and statistics that are easily customizable for topics and states, which would be good for teachers and researchers.
The Web site has numerous resources and links, and the interface is relatively easy to navigate. For example, accessing "scientific articles" leads you to a list of articles that have been published in varying journals by CDC authors within the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Many of the articles allow access to full text. The "Basics" link on types of disabilities leads the user to further links on defining disabilities and provides a simple explanation of World Health Organization, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health model that may be helpful for students. The link to "personal stories" and "resources and materials" provide excellent videos of individuals with disabilities and is definitely worth a look and is a potentially valuable resource for teachers, students, and clinicians.
While the sheer number of potential links from the main page makes the Web site a valuable resource, it may be easy for the user to forget how they arrived at a specific link. This makes it difficult to find that link again unless it has been bookmarked. The Web site was accessed and functional across platforms and browsers. In addition, the content was also available in Spanish. In sum, the Web site has value for physical therapists in all practice areas (clinicians, instructors, students, and researchers) as a way to access to an array of additional resources on healthy living and disability. Clinicians may find the Web site beneficial to share with patients or clients to help them with concerns about healthy living with a disability. (Last accessed February 27, 2013).
Heather Hayes, DPT, NCS
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Helpguide.org-Exercise and Fitness Help Guide
Helpguide.org is an online resource that aims to support better mental health and lifestyle choices by empowering readers with trustworthy information and encouragement. The Web site (http://www.helpguide.org/topics/exercise.htm) was founded in 1999 by Jeanne Segal, PhD, and Robert Segal, MA, and is funded entirely by charitable contributions. Dr Segal is an experienced psychotherapist and has authored several books on emotional intelligence, health, and wellness. Helpguide.org covers numerous topics in the areas of mental health, healthy lifestyles, children and family, and seniors and aging. This review focuses on one topic under healthy lifestyles: Exercise and Fitness.
Four main pages address the topic. Three of these follow a similar format, listing many ways in which exercise enhances mental and physical health, discussing several commonly perceived barriers to exercise, and offering suggestions for incorporating exercise into daily life. The "Easy Exercise Tips" page contains broadly applicable information, targeted to the general public. Under "Senior Exercise and Fitness Tips," exercise is promoted as a key contributor to healthy aging and a feasible way to lessen the impact of illness and chronic health conditions. The page titled "Chair Exercises and Limited Mobility Fitness Tips" discusses many issues encountered by people with disabilities and other medical conditions, including safety concerns, mental and emotional barriers, and practical aspects of adapted exercise. Readers are directed to consult with their doctor or physical therapist for suitable exercise options. A separate page, titled "How to Practice Yoga and Tai Chi," provides an introductory description of each method and recommends that beginners learn from a qualified instructor.
Helpguide.org also includes an educational supplement titled "Creating Your Personal Exercise Plan" through collaboration with Harvard Health Publications. This resource offers more detailed, scientifically supported guidelines regarding aerobic exercise, strength training, balance, flexibility, and relaxation. After learning the components of exercise and considering their individual circumstances, readers are encouraged to develop a personalized program for themselves.
Each page on Helpguide.org includes a collection of links to resources and references. Many of these contain specific exercise instructions and multimedia tools, which may facilitate implementation more readily than textual articles. For example, the National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability (http://www.ncpad.org/content/61/Video) Web site and the National Institutes of Health Senior Health Web site (http://www.nihseniorhealth.gov) provide instructions, photos, and videos demonstrating many common exercises for various diagnoses.
Overall, the Exercise and Fitness topic of Helpguide.org is motivational, easy for consumers to read and understand, and generally contains accurate information based on current fitness guidelines. Content related to specific health conditions is minimal, however, thus offering limited usefulness for physical therapy professionals. Each page consists of well-formatted text, a few photos, and links that allow easy navigation between pages. When the site was last accessed on March 5, 2013, all links were working. The most recent updates were in December 2012. Although there were no audio, video, or interactive features, there were links to an active Facebook page and a Twitter account. (Last accessed March 5, 2013)
Stacey L. DeJong, PT, PhD, PCS
University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, Kansas