- Mission [1]
- The Board met December 6-7, 2010 and May 2-3, 2011. Highlighted recommendations include:The Board reviewed support for rehabilitation
research across the NIH and the means that NIH uses to prepare reports for Congress on specific diseases, conditions, and
research areas. They also discussed how NCMRR also takes an active role in various trans-NIH activities and collaborations
with other federal agencies. The Board made a recommendation to affirm its mandate to review and assess federal research priorities,
activities, and funding regarding medical rehabilitation research, and to advise the Directors of the NCMRR and the NICHD
on a research plan. The Board discussed the use of program announcements (PAs) to promote research in a specific domain. Because
PAs seem to generate response within the research community, the Board encouraged NCMRR staff to continue with the judicial
use of these research solicitations and encouraged the NICHD to provide support for meritorious PA applications when appropriate.
The Board provided input into a specific initiative on promoting health, activity, and diet for children with disabilities.
The Board made several constructive additions to this initiative, including the context of individual “health status”, the
validity of self-report measures, and the importance of motivation to build life-long habits. The Board spent the majority
of the second meeting providing input to the NICHD Vision process. They made specific recommendations in each of the nine
research domains. The Board supported the need for research in several cross cutting areas, such as biomarkers, data depositories,
bioethics, and trans-disciplinary training and research, but the Board also expressed several missed opportunities. Function,
quality of life, and participation status, although large contributors to overall health were largely missing from the papers.
People with disabilities should not merely be included in larger studies, but rather, scientific questions should be developed
around their needs. The inclusion of disability-specific variables in large datasets and bioinformatics may help promote disability
research. The prevention of disease was discussed, but not in the context of disability. In subsequent email discussions,
the Board also provided additional input into the later NICHD White papers. Specific recommendations included developing a
broader discussion of the physical (built) environment and the implications of technological, social, cultural communication,
economic and policy elements. An acknowledgement that environment can either interfere or enhance prevention of both primary
and secondary disabilities. Additional discussion of acquired cognitive disorders through ageing, disease or injury and the
impact of the timing of an acquired injury on the developmental trajectory. And finally, that research in pregnancy and pregnancy
outcomes must consider persons with disability.
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