The Living Well Project

Kia ora, talofa lava and hello, you are invited to take part in a study aiming to explore ways disabled people stay (or become) healthy. We are particularly interested in finding the best ways for disabled people to take part in physical activity and healthy eating. 

We want to talk with disabled people and other key stakeholders (such as family/whanau of disabled people or people who work with disabled people) about what they see as the barriers and facilitators to engaging in health behaviours. We also want to find out how you think some of the existing strategies could be modified to make them more responsive to the needs of disabled people.Living well for people with a disability or with a disabling health condition.

Despite an increasing number of public health initiatives aiming to help people engage in healthy behaviours, like being active or eating healthily, very few actually consider or address the needs of people living with disability or chronic illness. In response to this, the team at AUT aims to:

• Explore the things that help or hinder being involved in healthy lifestyles from the perspective of those living with a disability and/or chronic health condition and other key stakeholders; and
• Identify how strategies that may be effective can be modified to be more responsive to the needs of those people.

There are a number of ways you will be able to be involved and share your view including the following:

• A series of focus groups will be conducted in locations throughout NZ (including Northland, Auckland, Gore and Dunedin);
• Individual interviews (via telephone if living outside the Auckland area) will be offered to those who wish to share their view, but cannot attend a focus group; and
• An online discussion forum will be made available on the study website throughout the course of the study where you can contribute your views.

For more information about how to participate please download the information sheet below or if you would like to read regular updates about the study visit at http://www.livingwellstudy.aut.ac.nz or phone the research team on 0800-LIVE-WELL (0800-548-393).
Easy_to_read_information_sheet.doc