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NCT Number: NCT07475117

Health Engagement & Access Through Learning, Training, and Health-coaching With People With Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities

The purpose of this study is to see if a combination of an educational curriculum and health coaching embedded within Special Olympics improves health outcomes and healthcare access compared to regular Special Olympics sport and health programming for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

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Key information

Age range

21 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States

Location contact

Karla Ausderau, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

608-262-0653

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

- Special Olympic Athletes:

  • Currently participating in Special Olympics programming at a state agency in the study
  • Has a medical or educational diagnosis of intellectual and/or developmental disabilities
  • Between the ages of 21-65
  • Has at least weekly contact with a family member or care partner who is willing and able to participate
  • Fluent in English

Inclusion criteria

- Care Partner:

  • Care partner for the participating Special Olympic Participant/Athlete
  • At least 21 years of age
  • Has at least weekly contact with Special Olympic Participant/Athlete who is willing and able to participate
  • Fluent in English

Exclusion criteria

- all:

  • Inability to complete an accessible informed assent or consent process
  • Fluctuating capacity to consent

Treatment and study plan

Comprehensive Community Health

Behavioral

Participants will receive group health coaching, psychoeducation, and group health education.

Regular Special Olympics programming

Other

Standard practices for those participating in Special Olympics

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS)

    Time frame: Baseline to 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months

    GAS is measured using three participant-identified goals, each assigned a priority weight from 1 to 3 (3=most important goal to participant). At each assessment, each goal is assigned a score from -2 to +2, with 0 representing expected level of attainment and 2 indicating much more than expected level of attainment; goals are assigned a score of -2 at baseline. GAS score levels across all three participant goals are converted into a standardized single GAS T-score for each participant. The range of possible T-scores is 23.56 (all three goals with GAS score of -2) to 76.44 (all three goals with GAS score of +2).

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in number of doctor visits

    Time frame: Baseline, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months

    Participants will self-report how many times they visited their adult or family-care practitioner over the course of the study

  2. Change in number of routine health check-ups

    Time frame: Baseline, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months

    Participants will self-report whether they received routine care throughout the study

  3. Change in number of participants with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities that follow-up with their primary physician

    Time frame: Baseline, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months

    Participants will self-report whether they followed-up with their primary physician using HEALTH 4 ME tools to inform them of risk or concern about their health.

  4. Change in quality of life - "Healthy Days Measure"

    Time frame: Baseline, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months

    The CDC HRQOL-14 (Healthy Days Measures) scoring involves creating an Unhealthy Days Score by summing days with poor physical and mental health (max 30), and a Healthy Days Score (30 minus unhealthy days); individual items (general health, symptoms like pain, depression, energy) are often scored separately (0-30 for days, 1-5 for general health), with higher scores generally indicating worse health, except for energy/lack of fatigue, where higher is better. There isn't a single, complex summary score, but rather metrics for different aspects of quality of life, reported as means or percentages.

  5. Change in healthcare access satisfaction

    Time frame: Baseline, 3, 12, and 18 months post-intervention

    Participants will self-report their satisfaction with healthcare access via responses to 3 survey items, scored on a 3-point Likert scale where 1 = easy and 3 = hard. Scores range from 3-9 with lower scores indicating greater satisfaction.

  6. Change in healthcare use satisfaction

    Time frame: Baseline, 3, 12, and 18 months post-intervention

    Participants will self-report their satisfaction with healthcare use via responses to 3 survey items. Items are scored on a 3-point Likert scale, where 1 = very satisfied and 3 = not satisfied. Scores range from 3-9 with higher scores indicating lower level of satisfaction.

  7. Change in self-advocacy

    Time frame: Baseline, 3, 12, and 18 months post-intervention

    Participants will be interviewed regarding their perceptions and understanding of health self-advocacy.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Karla Ausderau, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

608-262-0653

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Other

Collaborators

  • Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Registry information

Official study title

Comparing a Group Psychoeducational Health Intervention to Special Olympics Health Programming on Improving Access to Best Practice Health Care for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Acronym: HEALTH 4 ME

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2031
Study completion
2031
First posted
Mar 16, 2026
Registry last updated
Jun 11, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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