Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons^™

Recruiting Research Participants With Community Research Partners, Will Hoard, Krys Standley, Catherine Ipsen, Rtc: Rural

Independent Living and Community Participation

This fact sheet examines recruitment experiences from the Rural Health Pathways Project, a community-based research initiative partnering with Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to deliver health promotion programming for people with disabilities in rural communities. Through interviews with staff from seven participating CILs, the project identified key factors that influenced recruitment success and challenges. Findings highlighted the importance of trusted relationships, team-based planning, clear communication about participant benefits, and individualized enrollment support. Common barriers included scheduling uncertainty related to study design, technology navigation difficulties, time commitments, language barriers, and concerns about sharing personal information. These insights demonstrate the critical role …

Project Care Poster, Jeff Gutierrez, Rayna Sage, Rtc: Rural

Independent Living and Community Participation

The CARE Project connects rural Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and rural libraries to improve disability services and respond to community needs together. RTC:Rural has designed a participatory curriculum development project to collaboratively create a resource to provide a roadmap to community partnerships between rural CILs and libraries.

Seats At The Roundtable: Guidance On The Training And Resource Priorities Of Rural Cils, Jeff Gutierrez, Luke Santore

Independent Living and Community Participation

In October 2025, RTC:Rural staff hosted a roundtable session in Portland, OR, at the annual APRIL (Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living) Conference. The session, Collaborating for Rural Outreach and Assessing the Resource and Training Needs of Rural CIL Staff and Consumers, provided participants with the opportunity to inform future research, training, and development projects and build partnerships for future collaborations.This factsheet provides a synthesized synopsis of the roundtable discussions.

Protecting Access To Rural Community Living For People With Disabilities, Rtc: Rural

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural's 2026 research, policy, and practice summit, exploring rural home health care and ways to strengthen the direct care workforce. The summit includes a presentation by RTC:Rural researchers and a panel discussion.

Better Together: Rural Community Collaboration In North Carolina's Cape Fear Region, Luke Santore, Lillie Greiman, Rayna Sage

Independent Living and Community Participation

The disAbility Resource Center of North Carolina (dRC) has served the Cape Fear region of NC since 2008. The dRC holds to the philosophy that every individual has the right to maximize their abilities, live as independently as possible, and participate fully in their community. In rural NC, the delivery of formal support requires informal trust across people, places, and organizations. In this sense, dRC is a trust broker, facilitating relationships between informal rural support networks and the network of public and nonprofit service providers in the area. dRC does this through being embedded in rural places, earning trust person …

Montana Voices Amplified: My Perspective: The World Is Not Unbreakable, Katie Neskey, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

RIIC employee Katie Neskey talks about helping her child manage anger and express emotions healthily.

Disability Pride And Community Connection In Eastern Virginia: The Disability Resource Center Of The Rappahannock Area, Inc., Luke Santore, Lillie Greiman, Rayna Sage

Independent Living and Community Participation

The disAbility Resource Center of the Rappahannock Area, Inc (dRC) is a Center for Independent Living (CIL) that provides services that promote independence, advocacy, and leadership among the people with disabilities they serve. dRC focuses on disability-led services and programs to meet consumers' needs, with an extraordinary level of peer support. RTC:Rural researchers explore dRC's peer mentoring and peer support groups through the Rural Community Living Development project.

“I Now Have The Freedom To Do What I Want, When I Want, Like Anybody Else”: The Impact, Creation, And Management Of Transportation Voucher Programs, Luke Santore, Andrew Myers

Independent Living and Community Participation

Poor access to transportation is associated with negative results in life outcomes such as health, quality of life, employment, and community participation. Rural people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to poor transportation access. Transportation voucher programs are an effective but underutilized resource that addresses transportation for rural people with disabilities. In this factsheet, RTC:Rural researchers explore how Center for Independent Living (CIL) staff establish and manage voucher programs, and illustrate how vouchers affected the people with disabilities who have used them.

Reflections From Lived Experience: Disability And Public Libraries, Jeff Gutierrez

Independent Living and Community Participation

Summary of an interactive conference session that captured the views of rural Center for Independent Living (CIL) staff and consumers on the intersection of disability and public libraries in rural areas.

Partnering For Research At Your Center For Independent Living: Tips From Your Peers, Krys Standley, Hannah W. Pepprock, Rayna Sage

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural researchers present advice on collaborative and participatory research projects with Centers for Independent Living (CILs) based on work with CIL partners. The guide includes feedback and priorities from CIL staff on the most effective conditions to address when entering into a research partnership.

Western Reserve Independent Living Center: Leaders In Disability Advocacy For Eastern Ohio, Lillie Greiman, Luke Santore, Rayna Sage

Independent Living and Community Participation

Western Reserve Independent Living Center (WRILC) is a Center for Independent Living (CIL) that provides services that promote independence, advocacy, and leadership among the people with disabilities they serve. WRILC's approach is rooted in a deep commitment to empowering individuals through personalized support, peer connections, and skills development. RTC:Rural researchers explore WRILC's relationship-based community advocacy approach through the Rural Community Living Development project.

America At A Glance: Rural Transit Funding Through The Covid-19 Pandemic, Andrew Myers, Luke Santore

Independent Living and Community Participation

While all people need transportation to meet their basic needs, rural people with disabilities face barriers due to lack of public transportation and not driving. Federal transit funds to improve public transportation doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but most went to metropolitan and micropolitan counties, with many rural counties receiving no transit funds from 2018-2022. This factsheet explores and illustrates these differences in transit funds received in urban and rural counties.

Elevating Rural Disability Data For Policy Impact, Rtc: Rural

Independent Living and Community Participation

In late 2023, the Research & Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural) and the Urban Institute partnered to better understand issues related to using and accessing rural disability data. First, we hosted two listening sessions to explore challenges and opportunities to improve the relevance, access, and accuracy of rural disability data. One listening session focused on perspectives from data users and rural community stakeholders. The other focused on perspectives from data producers including multiple federal agencies that collect and disseminate national, state, and local data. These discussions culminated in a rural data summit, Elevating Rural Disability Data for …

Building An Inclusive Disability Community In Rural Idaho: Stories From The Magic Valley, Lillie Greiman, Genna M. Mashinchi, E. Petersen, R. Roberts, Rayna Sage, Luke Santore

Independent Living and Community Participation

The Living Independence Network Corporation (LINC) has served Southern Idaho for over 20 years. Headquartered in Boise, LINC has branch offices in both Twin Falls and Caldwell. LINC staff provide a wide range of services for rural consumers across the approximately 30,000 square miles of their service area. The Twin Falls office serves eight counties, a region locally known as the “Magic Valley.”

This report highlights both the work of staff at LINC’s Twin Falls office and the outcomes of a community-based research project that LINC participated in with the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities at the University of Montana.

Rural Communication Strategies: Disability And The Role Of Public Libraries, Jeff Gutierrez, University Of Montana Rural Institute For Inclusive Communities

Independent Living and Community Participation

Communication in rural areas can often feel like a mystery to outsiders. Local identity and informal networks tend to thrive, but if you are not from these areas, it can be difficult to stay in the loop. Even rural people with disabilities, who have lived in these communities their entire lives, still struggle to participate. How do they find out what is going on and stay connected with local resources and services? This research report explores the role of libraries in rural communication strategies for people with disabilities.

Impacts Of Cil Youth Transition Services In Northern Florida: A Case Study Of Ability 1st, Lillie Greiman, Rayna Sage, Chris Carlberg

Independent Living and Community Participation

For young people with disabilities, the transition from secondary education into adulthood can be challenging to navigate. Key services and supports may be lost, daily life and routines may change, and new responsibilities and expectations emerge. These transitions can be particularly challenging for youth in rural areas who face additional transportation, education, and housing barriers.

Centers for Independent Living (CILs), like Ability 1^st in Northern Florida, provide valuable and impactful youth transition services to both the rural and urban communities they serve. This research report illustrates and evaluates this CIL's efforts to help transitioning youth with disabilities explore postsecondary …

America At A Glance: Travel Patterns By Disability And Rurality, Luke Santore, Andrew Myers, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural researchers use 2022 National Household Transportation Survey (NHTS) data to assess differences in travel behavior across disability status and rurality.

Montana Voices Amplified: My Perspective: Tell People What You Need! We’Re All In This Together, Maclaen R. Burningham, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

It can be difficult to let others know that you are struggling, but it's important to talk openly and share your needs with others. Maclean R. Birmingham, a person with Prader-Willi Syndrome who is a self-advocate and serves on the Rural Institute’s Consumer Advisory Council, explains the benefits in starting that conversation yourself and finding freedom and success in openly asking others for their assistance.

Sharing Your Success: Using Photovoice To Document And Communicate The Impact Of Independent Living Services, Lillie Greiman, Rayna Sage

Independent Living and Community Participation

In this brief guide, you will learn about strategies for documenting and communicating the impact of your independent living work. Specifically, this guide will give you a tool for using “Photovoice”, along with some examples of how to share your organization’s outcomes with the communities you serve.

The Role Of Place Of Birth And Residence In Puerto Rican Health Disparities: Evidence From Disability Prevalence Among Archipelago- Vs. Mainland-Born Puerto Ricans, Mara Getz Sheftel, Frank W. Heiland

Publications and Research

Objectives: This paper provides new estimates of disability prevalence for the archipelago and mainland-residing Puerto Rican populations ages 40 and above and compares disability by place of birth and place of residence to investigate drivers of middle and older age health.

Methods: Large nationally representative samples from 2013 to 2017 American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey data are used to estimate age-specific disability prevalence for archipelago-born/archipelago-residing, archipelago-born/mainland-residing, mainland-born/mainland-residing Puerto Ricans.

Results: Mainland-born/ mainland-residing Puerto Ricans have the lowest age-adjusted disability rates and archipelago-born/archipelago-residing Puerto Ricans have the highest rates. Differences in education explain part of this disparity.

Discussion: …

Montana Voices Amplified: My Perspective: How To Help When You Don't Know How To Help, Elizabeth Hill, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

Someone you care about is in serious crisis. How can you support them in their time of need? What should you say? (What shouldn't you say?) Elizabeth Hill, a writer and mom of a child with a genetic condition, explains how to help someone who is struggling, and the myriad ways her own family has been supported by the caring and giving of others.

"Patiently Waiting": How Do Non-Driving Disabled Adults Get Around In Rural America, Rtc: Rural, Krys Standley, Andrew Myers

Independent Living and Community Participation

Poster presentation exploring interviews with rural people with disabilities who rely solely on rides from others or public transportation.

Outcome Measurement Toolkit: A Resource For Centers For Independent Living, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural researchers and advisory groups provide a toolkit designed to help Center for Independent Living (CIL) administrators learn practices for measuring, evaluating, and improving outcomes generated by their CIL’s programs. This document is an adaptation of the Outcome Measures for Centers for Independent Living training, created with permission from Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU).

Creating A Resource Map With Google My Maps, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural researchers provide a step-by-step tutorial for creating a community living resource map using Google My Maps.

Summit Snapshot: Rural Personal Assistance Services, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural researchers and panels of individuals with lived experience present research and perspectives on rural personal assistance services at the 2023 Rural Disability Research and Practice Summit.

Summit Snapshot: Rural Digital Access, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural researchers and panels of individuals with lived experience present research and perspectives on rural digital access at the 2023 Rural Disability Research and Practice Summit.

Montana Voices Amplified: My Perspective: Living And Grieving In Faith, Briella Wilson, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

Briella Wilson lost her brother, Weston, when she was in the 3rd grade and has worked hard to overcome her grief. Her contribution to Montana Voices Amplified shares the importance of faith in negotiating grief.

America At A Glance: Transportation Use During The Covid-19 Pandemic, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural researcher Andrew Myers reviews data from the 2017-2021 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) to explore transportation use among urban and rural disabled adults during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cognitive Difficulty In The Five Boroughs Of New York City, 2000-2019, Marjorine Henriquez-Castillo

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

the percentage of people with cognitive difficulty reported in 2000, 2010, and 2019 among residents in New York City. Specifically, residents from the five boroughs in New York City—Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island—were included in this analysis.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use …

Montana Voices Amplified: My Perspective: Can I Pet Your Eyes?, Ed Worrell, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

The author shares the most common questions he is asked when working with his dog guide, Helen.