Following extensive research and personal experience, Jereme Wilroy, Ph.D., associate professor in UAB's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, found that many public health professionals are not prepared to design health promotion programs and opportunities to address the pervasive health disparities that continue for the over 60 million Americans with disabilities.
The drive to make a change in disability health education, led to the creation of the Disability Health Studies Graduate Certificate at UAB.
Beginning in 2019, Wilroy proposed a graduate-level disability health course to the Department of Health Behavior in School of Public Health. That course was accepted, developed, and launched in fall of 2019. He then proposed a course in disability and implementation science, which launched in spring of 2021. Both courses garnered much interest from students with high enrollment numbers and top course reviews.
In 2022, Wilroy worked with the MPH program director Dr. Teneasha Washington to develop a proposal for a graduate certificate, to include the two disability courses as core courses, some health behavior electives, and a few other alternative electives in mixed methods research. The purposes of the certificate program are to build on knowledge and skills of graduate students in public health and provide education and training to other health professionals, such as physical and occupational therapy, nursing, and medicine.
“I’m thrilled that this much-needed curriculum has been so well received. The new Disability Health Studies Graduate Certificate will promote a more equitable approach to health care by incorporating and enhancing services designed for individuals with disabilities," Wilroy said. “It is critical that public health professionals receive comprehensive training in the development, implementation, and evaluation in disability health.”
The 15-hour Disability Health Studies Graduate Certificate program is co-directed by Dr. Wilroy and Dr. Washington and begins enrollment in spring of 2024. The goal is to prepare masters’, doctoral, post-doctoral, and post-masters’ students with advanced knowledge and skills to develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate programs promoting the health of individuals with disabilities. It will utilize existing courses offered as required or elective courses in the School of Public Health and Health Professions. Students may choose between courses in health behavior, health policy and organization, and administrative health services. There are several online or classroom-based courses to meet the program requirements.