Translating Research to Practice Grantees

NIDILRR funds several Projects for Translating Disability and Rehabilitation Research into Practice. The KTER Center supported these Projects by sharing information about the Projects' activities and organizing webcasts to introduce the Projects to other NIDILRR grantees.

View annual webcasts describing the knowledge translation activities of these projects below.

Read more about these projects below:

  1. Translating Evidence to Support Transitions: Improving Outcomes of Youth in Transition with Psychiatric Disabilities by Use and Adoption of Best Practice Transition Planning.
    Principal Investigator: Kathleen Biebel, PhD; Marsha Ellison, PhD

    Abstract: The goal of this project is to increase use and adoption of best practices in planning the transition of high school students to postsecondary employment and/or school enrollment; specifically, students with emotional behavioral disturbance (EBD) receiving special education services . This includes transition planning with the ultimate goal to improve postsecondary outcomes for this population through knowledge translation, testing, and dissemination of NIDILRR-funded research findings. The project develops materials, procedures, and guides for implementing three research-informed best practices in high school transition planning: (1) written goals for a concentration of career and technical coursework during high school, (2) student-led transition planning efforts, and (3) representation of adult-serving disability agencies and colleges on transition teams. The TEST project is guided by the National Implementation Research Network Stage-based Implementation Framework and has five project objectives that correspond to this framework: (1) Developing research-informed materials and procedures for use by transition planning teams that are tailored to youth with EBD in close coordination with end-users and a stakeholder team; (2) pilot-testing resulting TEST procedures and materials in one school district with an implementation stakeholder team, finalizing TEST procedures and materials; (3) providing TEST implementation support and technical assistance to transition teams in one state and developing a TEST implementation guide; (4) presenting TEST best practices and the implementation guide at a national capacity building institute for high school special education transition planning teams; and (5) widely disseminating TEST materials. Project outcomes include the development of guides and curricula for practicing and implementing best practices in transition planning for students with EBD and the wide-scale adoption and use of TEST practices, improving employment and education outcomes for students with EBD. This project is led by the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Transitions Research and Training Center and the Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center. This project also benefits from assemblage of prominent organizations and individuals with expertise in adoption and use of best practices for transition support for students with disabilities, knowledge translation, research on transition, and local transition efforts.
  2. Translating Transfer Training and Wheelchair Maintenance into Practice.
    Principal Investigator: Michael L. Boninger, MD; Lynn Worobey, PhD; Cindy Cai, PhD.

    Abstract: This project focuses on the knowledge translation of transfer training and wheelchair maintenance into practice in order to improve transfers and wheelchair maintenance leading to decreased pain and increased independence for individuals with mobility disabilities. The multi-institution, consumer-focused team: (1) Develops and continually refines high-quality training products to translate wheelchair transfer and maintenance research to wheelchair users, their support systems, and clinicians; (2) integrates stakeholder feedback throughout all stages of material development; (3) creates self-assessment versions of the transfer assessment instrument and wheelchair maintenance training questionnaire as educational tools to enable wheelchair users to track progress and identify areas requiring further training; (4) disseminates and promote utilization of materials to wheelchair users and their support systems including clinicians providing their care, nationally, and internationally; and (5) evaluates utilization of materials through focus groups, social media, satisfaction surveys, self-assessments, and population changes in reported pain and wheelchair breakdown. The University of Pittsburgh Model Center on Spinal Cord Injury is partnering with American Institutes for Research (AIR) and is joined by the United Spinal Association, and the Spina Bifida Association to bring connections to the target audience and enable stakeholder participation.
     
  3. Translating Evidence About Traumatic Brain Injury to Practice Within Washington State Department of Corrections.
    Principal Investigator: Mark Harniss, PhD; Kurt Johnson, PhD.

    Abstract: This project focuses on translating evidence about traumatic brain injury (TBI) into practice within the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC). The goal is to improve the management of offenders with TBI by helping front line staff understand what TBI is; how offenders might be affected by TBI; what they could that would help in day-to-day management of problems faced by offenders with TBI (e.g., memory, communication, mood, impulsivity); how TBI might affect engagement in treatment programs; how TBI affects compliance with DOC rules and regulations; and how TBI might affect transition from corrections to community living. The goal is to effect change at two levels in the DOC by increasing awareness and knowledge about TBI system-wide, and developing and piloting intensive knowledge translation (KT) activities with front line staff who work with specific target populations (e.g., veterans, women, or individuals with disabilities) in order to translate knowledge into practice. These activities can then be generalized to other correctional facilities within the DOC. In order to achieve these goals, the project identifies and prioritizes research-based products on TBI from current and completed NIDILRR-funded projects that are most relevant for the DOC. Factsheets and evidence-based materials developed by previous NIDILRR-funded grants serve as starting points for integrating research-based evidence into practices within corrections. The project assesses the current level of TBI knowledge and programming within the DOC to identify knowledge gaps and potential barriers and facilitators to the use and adoption of NIDILRR-sponsored TBI evidence in DOC. Finally, the project develops and implements a comprehensive KT plan, including system-wide strategies and an intensive pilot intervention, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of knowledge translation strategies and overall processes, and providing a summary of findings for recommendations of informed practice within DOC and the broader criminal justice community.