Phila.gov
Read full report at Temple.edu
The Patient-centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has awarded Temple University $7.5 million for a new study comparing approaches to help young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn to use public transportation.
Led by Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Professor Beth Pfeiffer and her research team, the study will compare the outcomes of two approaches to a travel training called Chance to Ride.
Ultimately, Pfeiffer and her team will compare outcomes when this intervention is provided by peer supporters with intellectual and developmental disabilities and when it is provided by professional staff.
“This study is exciting for a lot of reasons,” said Pfeiffer. “Philadelphia is an important area for people to live independently. Community mobility is a barrier for this particular group transitioning to adulthood. There are also a lot of workforce issues and shortages for this population. It’s important to find an effective method in which peer support is used and increased.
“Our hope is that this study can help reduce these barriers and that these individuals will have more independent forms of transportation so that they can live independently and engage with their communities.”
