Research Impact Story: Advancing Equity through Home and Community-Based Services
This downloadable PDF was designed to share the impact and results of Disability Policy Consortium’s community-led research project.
The Disability Policy Consortium, a disability rights organization, set out to explore inequities in access to Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) among Latinx and Black/African American populations with disabilities in Springfield, Massachusetts, including whether disparities in HCBS access contribute to increased institutionalization among communities of color.
Findings reveal that Latinx and Black residents face high levels of adverse social determinants of health (particularly poverty and unstable housing) that intersect with and limit access to HCBS. Their experiences reflected both risk and resilience. Some participants reported social isolation while others benefited from strong family networks. Awareness of available services was uneven, and gaps in knowledge and navigation prevented some from living meaningful, independent lives in the communities of their choice. It is important to note that recruitment and participation were challenging, especially among Latinx residents, due to fear of immigration enforcement.
In response to recruitment challenges, DPC has strengthened screening protocols, expanded outreach through local partners, and more deeply integrated Spanish-speaking lived-experience experts to build trust and engagement. Moving forward, DPC is centering community relationships, tailoring research design to real-world contexts, and investing in sustained engagement to strengthen participatory research capacity led by people with disabilities as a tool for systems change in HCBS
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