National Programs on Health Promotion for People with Disabilities

CDC’s Disability and Health Branch continues to build on decades of work with two national programs to improve the mental and physical health of Americans with disabilities across the lifespan. These two national programs are currently funded under CDC-RFA-DD21-2102 and CDC-RFA-DD21-2104 from August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2026.

Learn more about the organizations and activities that are funded under this cooperative agreement.

National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD)

The National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) is a public health practice and resource center focusing on health promotion, wellness, and quality of life of people with disabilities. NCHPAD supports local, state and national organizations in adopting guidelines, recommendations and adaptations that promote the inclusion of children and adults with mobility limitations in public health practices. Specifically, NCHPAD’s goal is to develop the infrastructure to support the accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities in existing and future public health promotion programs geared toward improving their physical activity, nutrition and healthy weight management.

Key Activities:

CDC and NCHPAD will work together to

• Identify models, programs, practices, and policies that have been shown to work, and adapt them for children and adults with mobility limitations.
• Develop customized training materials to teach partners about the tools and resources that accommodate people with different types of mobility limitations.
• Help local providers implement adaptations to their existing programs, practices, strategies, and services.
• Expand and publicize the best practices related to inclusive physical activity, nutrition, and obesity prevention strategies in community settings.

Visit the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) website.

Contact NCHPAD toll-free at 1-866-866-8896 (voice and TTY), or by sending an email to nchpad@uab.edu

Special Olympics

Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics provides athletes with continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their peers, families, and the broader community. CDC’s Disability and Health Branch has funded the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® (since 2002) and Healthy Communities (starting in 2012) programs to provide Special Olympics athletes with increased access to free health screenings, education, and referrals for follow-up health care, as well as year-round health promotion and disease prevention programs.

Key activities:

CDC and Special Olympics work together to

• Train healthcare professionals to conduct and support Healthy Athletes® screening events throughout the United States, which provide free health screenings, education, and referrals for Special Olympics athletes who need follow-up health care.
• Increase the availability of data during and after screening events to enhance the capacity to evaluate effectiveness; this can be achieved by improving data collection through the use of digital health technology.
• Provide disability awareness training to healthcare professionals, community wellness partners, schools, and other collaborators who have limited or no experience working with people with intellectual disabilities.

Visit the Special Olympics website.

Contact Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® at 1-202-824-0308 or toll-free at 1-800-700-8585, or by sending an email to info@specialolympics.org.