Researchers at the University of Michigan Seek Women with Physical Disabilities for Focus Group

The University of Michigan’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is seeking the help of women with mobility impairments to help researchers identify how to improve healthcare.

Researchers will be conducting paid focus groups with women and adolescents between the ages of 16-50, asking questions about how having a disability impacts access to gynecological healthcare. Participants will be asked to fill out a questionnaire and attend focus groups which last between 1-1.5 hours. Women who cannot attend the focus group can also arrange for a telephone interview as well. The researchers can be contacted at (734) 763-0430, or via email at whdresearch@umich.edu.

This study seeks to identify areas in which gynecological care providers can improve their service offerings, including how to remove barriers to getting care, providing accommodations, and other questions relating to how medical staffers provide care to women with physical disabilities.

About the University of Michigan Health System’s Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Department

The University of Michigan PMR Department helps individuals with mobility and/or motor difficulties increase their functional abilities, decrease pain and disability and maximize performance in the workplace, educational and recreational settings. This department was established in 1950 as one of the first major institutions in the the U.S. to develop an independent Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The department employs more than 50 faculty members, with more than 20 faculty members holding Ph.Ds in rehabilitation psychology, engineering and rehabilitation sciences. As a whole, the department employs more than 450 health professionals and staffers from a variety of different fields, including:

Physical therapists
Occupational therapists
Recreational therapists
Exercise physiologists
Rehabilitation engineers
Orthotists
Prosthetists
Nurses
Physician assistants

The Department is nationally and regionally recognized as a leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation, including their pediatric rehabilitation, pain management, and spinal cord injury medicine subspecialities. The Department’s physicians, psychologists and other rehabilitation specialists have received national (and international) recognition for excellence in rehabilitating individuals with spinal cord injuries, neck and back pain, chronic pain, brachial plexopathy, traumatic brain injuries, pediatric disabilities, musculoskeletal problems, neurological problems, and other problems related to pain and disability.

To read more about Reiter & Walsh’s contributions to the UM Health System, please see our page on our philanthropic contributions, which also include the Miracle League, Hope for HIE and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. We also donate yearly to the C.S. Mott Golf Classic. If you would like to apply for Our ‘Caring for Life’ Scholarship, please read the instructions here.