CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
October 16, 2003, Vol. 03-92

"REMOVING BIAS BY REMOVING BARRIERS"
Meeting Sponsored by ICDR Subcommittee on Disability Statistics and CDC, National Center for Health Statistics

Monday, April 19, 2004 and Tuesday, April 20, 2004
The Capital Hill Holiday Inn
Washington, D.C

This meeting will bring together both public and private specialists from the disability research community and the survey research community to share their experiences in making surveys accessible to those with a disability.

Participants will include representatives from federal agencies conducting or using research, including member agencies of the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR); user and generators of survey statistics; disability advocacy and consumer organizations; and university and market researchers who conduct survey research.

David Keer and Paul Placek, Co-Chairs of the Subcommittee on Disability Statistics, who along with a planning group, developed this meeting. They are currently looking for presenters and participants who have expertise in the following areas:

1. inclusion of person with disabilities in all phases of disability surveying
2. identification of barriers and facilitators to survey participation by respondents with disabilities
3. description and evaluation of recent national surveys which have made significant attempts to reduce barriers
4. implementation of recent technological innovations in survey data collection, and
5. development of standards and best practices to assure maximum participation by people with disabilities in surveys.

The goal of this meeting is to provide a basis for developing an agenda for methodological research on survey accessibility and develop "best practices" for survey accessibility for people with disabilities. This goal will be achieved through demonstrating universal and assistive technologies for data collection and disseminating additional information in a variety of formats.

If you are interested in submitting a presentation or attending this event, please contact one of the following: David Keer, MA, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research/ED at 202-205-5633 or by email at David.Keer@ed.gov; Paul Placek, Ph.D., National Center for Health Statistics/CDC at 301-458-4437 or by email at Pplacek@cdc.gov; or Juliana Cyril, Ph.D., National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities/CDC at 404-498-3014 or by email at Jcyril@cdc.gov. Limited financial support is available to selected non-federal presenters.

For additional information, view the newsletter link at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/otheract/icd9/icfactivities.htm

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.