The Disability Equity Collaborative’s goal is to empower and support healthcare organizations, practitioners, and policy makers in implementing evidence-based, accessible care for their patients with disabilities.

To help achieve this goal, DEC facilitates three special interest groups (SIGs) and hosts monthly webinars alternating between these three subject areas. DEC’s webinars engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including researchers, advocates, policymakers, payers, providers, and more.

Research SIG

DEC’s Research SIG hosts presentations highlighting evidence for providing accessible care to people with disabilities. Members connect in an asynchronous space on Basecamp to share research participation and professional development opportunities.

Documentation SIG

DEC’s Documentation SIG is interested in developing standards and resources for documenting patients’ disability status and accommodation needs in electronic health records. The goal of documentation is to improve the quality and accessibility of care for patients with disabilities. Members can connect in an asynchronous space on Basecamp.

Standards & Guidelines SIG

DEC’s Standards & Guidelines SIG is a space for community members interested in creating and disseminating standards and guidelines for disability accessible care to connect, share updates and ideas, and ultimately further the work. Members have access to an asynchronous space on Basecamp.

Interested in joining a SIG? Complete our interest form!

Recent Webinars

The IDD Toolkit: Tools to Enhance Care for Adults with IDD↗
August 2026
Janet Shouse, BJ, Program Coordinator for the IDD Toolkit at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, presents an overview of the IDD Toolkit, a free online resource to help clinicians provide better care to adults with IDD. The Toolkit offers easy-to-use guidance and checklists for clinicians, as well as several resources for patients with IDD and their families or support persons.

Disability Perspectives on the Adverse Effects of Medical Ableism↗
March 2026
Dr. Jae Kennedy discusses preliminary findings from his grant-funded project, supported by the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (R01HD116323). The study uses data from the 2025 National Survey of Health and Disability (sample: n=2,506 adults with disabilities) to investigate disability-related problems with healthcare access and utilization problems in four domains: physical access, information access, informed decision-making, and respect from providers. These problems were linked to clinically or economically important health and healthcare outcomes.

Health and Disability Related Social Needs↗
February 2025
Dr. Jen Oshita, Lauren Levinton, and Dr. Carol Haywood present their work to identify and understand the social factors contributing to the disability community’s health disparities and healthcare outcomes. Pilot research revealed that chronic disability and health-related social risks are exceptionally common among patients in large, urban academic medical centers, and healthcare workers have poor awareness of these patient characteristics.