AJPH Supplement Spotlighting Special Olympics Health Programming Demonstrates How Inclusive Public Health Spaces Improve the Health of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Media Relations

Hanna DeVarona, [email protected]

Implementing strategies to improve health outcomes in all communities requires public health spaces to include people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) at the table when it comes to policy, funding and research decisions. As one of the largest organizations providing inclusive health programs for, and collecting health data on, people with IDD, Special Olympics provides a roadmap, in a new AJPH supplement, for public health practitioners to follow to address the profound health needs of people with IDD. The supplement, titled “Achieving Health Equity for People with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities: Making an Elusive Goal A Reality,” outlines the urgent need for inclusive health systems and equipping health care workers. 

Communication challenges, marginalization and lack of access to high-quality care are among the many significant barriers people with IDD face daily. “People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are too often left on the margins of health care, facing preventable inequities that shorten life expectancy by 16 to 20 years,” Special Olympics International Chief Health Officer Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, said. “The evidence is clear: from workforce training to prevention and early intervention, meaningful inclusion improves outcomes, strengthens care delivery and advances public health,” he added. 

The supplement also explains how essential inclusivity is to health, as it ensures people with IDD are part of research, community health assessments, health systems transformation and policy design. Using its “PATH to Health Equity” model, a four-pillared approach which encompasses Prevention, Assessment and Care Coordination, Training, and Health System Strengthening to break through those barriers, Special Olympics emphasizes the need to build a world where equitable health is the standard and not the exception. It is one of many examples that public health practitioners, health care professionals and health equity advocates can follow. 

“In many ways, Special Olympics health programming is a powerful manifestation of not only a call to action from our athletes, but also of what is possible when we all come together — public health, academia, public policy, clinical practice, civil society,” says Special Olympics International President and CEO David Evangelista. 

AJPH and Special Olympics are happy to announce that this supplement marks the first edition available in an Easy Read version, ensuring accessibility for those with IDD and making health information available for all. You can read the full supplement here.

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The American Public Health Association champions optimal, equitable health and well-being for all. With our broad-based member community and 150-year perspective, we influence federal policy to improve the public’s health. Learn more at www.apha.org.

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About Special Olympics 

Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is a global sports movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. We foster acceptance of all people through the power of sport and programming in education, health and leadership. With more than 4.6 million athletes and Unified Sports® partners and over one million coaches and volunteers in more than 200 countries and territories, Special Olympics offers over 30 Olympic-type sports and nearly 60,000 games and competitions every year. Engage with us on: X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Learn more at SpecialOlympics.org.