A new paper from Special Olympics was published in the American Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities titled, Navigating the Complexities of Developing a Longitudinal Health Evaluation: Creating Special Olympics Project ALL STAR.
The paper explores the inclusive development of Project ALL STAR, a first-of-its-kind longitudinal health evaluation of Special Olympics athletes.
Project ALL STAR aims to understand the impact of Special Olympics participation on athletes’ physical, mental, and social-emotional health outcomes. Project ALL STAR uses inclusive research methods, including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in all aspects of the evaluation from project design to implementation.
Key highlights include:
- Practical strategies for building evaluation capacity in community-based organizations with diverse infrastructures.
- Inclusive research best practices that can be incorporated into large-scale health evaluation projects.
By bringing together athletes, Special Olympics Programs, and researchers, Project ALL STAR is helping build an inclusive approach to health evaluation that reflects athletes’ experiences and strengthens our understanding of athlete health.
