Suzuki R, Peterson JJ, Weatherby AV, Buckley DI, Walsh ES, Kailes JI, Krahn GL.
Health Promot Pract. 2012 Jan;13(1):106-15. doi: 10.1177/1524839910382624. Epub 2010 Nov 8.
SOURCE: University of Michigan-Flint, Michigan, USA. rsuzuki@umflint.edu
This article describes the development of Promoting Access to Health Services (PATHS), an intervention to promote regular use of clinical preventive services by women with physical disabilities. The intervention was developed using intervention mapping (IM), a theory-based logical process that incorporates the six steps of assessment of need, preparation of matrices, selection of theoretical methods and strategies, program design, program implementation, and evaluation. The development process used methods and strategies aligned with the social cognitive theory and the health belief model. PATHS was adapted from the workbook Making Preventive Health Care Work for You, developed by a disability advocate, and was informed by participant input at five points: at inception through consultation by the workbook author, in conceptualization through a town hall meeting, in pilot testing with feedback, in revision of the curriculum through an advisory group, and in implementation by trainers with disabilities. The resulting PATHS program is a 90-min participatory small-group workshop, followed by structured telephone support for 6 months.