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R3 Part III Abstract

Abstract - R3 Part 3

Being healthy is an important condition for functioning optimally and integrating fully into all aspects of the American society including work and IL (Ravesloot, Seekins, & White, 2005). Importantly, people with disabilities are equally if not more susceptible to other chronic conditions relative to the general population and are at higher risk for health complications that result from their primary disability (Bishop et al., 2000). People with physical disabilities have been found to be at substantially elevated risk for obesity (Rimmer, 1999), psychological distress (McLean & Turner, 1989), alcohol and other abuse (Bombardier, Rimmele, & Zintel, 2002; Janikowski, Cardoso, & Lee, 2005), and smoking (Brawarsky, Brooks, Wilber, Gertz, & Walker, 2002). Health promotion interventions for people with disabilities have the potential to improve their secondary health and mental health conditions, employment status, and quality of life (Max, Rice, & Trupin, 1996; Ravesloot et al., 2005). Given being healthy is important to optimal physical functioning and stamina required for employment, it is important for VR agencies to incorporate health promotion intervention into rehabilitation planning for people with disabilities. However, very little is known about factors predicting health promotion behavior and health status of people with disabilities from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. Recently, Ralf Schwarzer's Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) (Schwarzer, 1992) model of health promotion has received worldwide attention from health psychology researchers. The purpose of this study is to validate the HAPA model as a health promotion model for people with disabilities from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. A comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanism for health behavior change will help us develop culturally-sensitive health promotion interventions for minorities with disabilities