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News from APTA

Congressional Affairs

Marc Goldstein, Director

Research Services

Federal funding of rehabilitation research depends on how much that research is valued, both within the physical therapy profession and among the external groups and individuals who have a stake in the research outcomes. To help advance rehabilitation research, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) forges partnerships, coalitions, and collaborations for advocacy, awareness, and legislative action; promotes the appointment of physical therapists to federal panels; and fosters infrastructure and research capacity building. To further cement the physical therapy profession's relationship with policymakers, APTA also is identifying health policy questions.

Advancing rehabilitation research and promoting physical therapist scientists continues to be a long-term, sustained, and multifaceted initiative of APTA. One of the key facets is to increase public and federal agency awareness of physical therapist scientists and their contributions to rehabilitation research. APTA has worked extensively to enhance its profile with the US Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, and Veterans Affairs (VA). A greater understanding and appreciation for rehabilitation science should result in greater resources dedicated to serving the research needs in this area.

Instrumental to APTA's strategy is a federal panel called the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR). The ICDR is the link to the federal agencies conducting research in disability and rehabilitation. The Committee is chaired by Stephen Tingus, Director of the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) in the Department of Education. Twelve federal agencies are statutorily defined as members of ICDR, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation, and the VA.

In addition, the chair of ICDR regularly extends invitations to other federal agencies involved in rehabilitation research, such as the Administration on Aging and the Department of Defense.

The ICDR is specifically authorized by Congress as part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 "to promote coordination and cooperation among Federal departments and agencies conducting rehabilitation research programs."¹ Furthermore, ICDR's goals are to increase public input and involvement in ICDR deliberations to ensure that research efforts lead to solutions for identified needs; improve the visibility of ICDR and federal disability research in general; identify and solve common problems through collaboration among agencies; and initiate and monitor activities involving interagency coordination and cooperation in support of the New Freedom Initiative. (The New Freedom Initiative is intended to help Americans with disabilities by "increasing access to assistive technologies, expanding educational opportunities, increasing the ability of Americans with disabilities to integrate into the workforce, and promoting increased access into daily community life."²) APTA shares these goals and seeks every effort to collaborate with this federal agency to support our shared values.

As part of ICDR's statutory mission, the Committee holds periodic hearings to hear from stakeholders in disability and rehabilitation research. At their public meeting on May 23, 2006, Edelle Field-Fote, PT, PhD, of the University of Miami, delivered comments on behalf of APTA that address 6 key areas to enhance disability and rehabilitation research. A researcher at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Field-Fote has received funding from federal agencies in rehabilitation research. Her comments built on previous testimony delivered in 2004 by Rebecca Craik, PT, PhD, FAPTA, before this panel.

Field-Fote advocated that ICDR set priorities on:

• Research that identifies risk factors and physical therapy interventions and addresses the secondary impairments associated with disease and dysfunction.
  
• Linking technology to rehabilitation interventions to ensure that scientific advancements are brought to the level of the patient.
  
• Increasing its concentration on longitudinal studies.
  
• Assuming a leadership role in the development of quality indicators in rehabilitation and health services research.
  
• Investigating the impact of aging and disability.
  
• Dedicating resources toward strategies to improve function through prevention.
  

Advancements in these areas will result in a more coordinated and comprehensive approach to rehabilitation research among federal agencies. Currently, fragmentation of projects across different agencies delays and disrupts the transition of new research to the level of the patient. Focusing beyond the disease to its ramifications on the individual in the areas of secondary impairments, aging, and prevention offers a great opportunity to reduce the burden of disease on the patient, the community, and the health care delivery system. APTA strongly advocates for greater coordination and a broadening of the rehabilitation research portfolio in federal agencies.

As APTA continues to seek greater presence and involvement in the advancement of rehabilitation research, we look for researchers to communicate the physical therapy message in public formats to federal agencies. By highlighting physical therapist researchers, we show a direct and tangible outcome to the investment of federal dollars into the research enterprise, specifically in the areas of disability and rehabilitation. Our track record with these agencies continues to grow in both the quality and quantity of research being conducted and led by physical therapist scientists. This track record provides opportunities for physical therapists to become leaders in the field of disability and rehabilitation research over the next decade.

References

1. ICDR Statutory Authority, Mission, and Goals. The Interagency Committee on Disability Research. Available at http://www.icdr.us/z_statute.html. Accessed June 5, 2006.
2. Remarks by the President in Announcement of New Freedom Initiative. February 1, 2001. Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/freedominitiative/freedominitiative.html. Accessed June 5, 2006.

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This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Moore, J. Articles by Goldstein, M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Moore, J. Articles by Goldstein, M. Related Collections Health Services Research Physical Therapist Practice: Other Social Bookmarking                      What's this?