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Mission
Research Team
Current Research
Information Services
The Center for Research on Women with Disabilities is located near Baylor College of Medicine and is an integral part of Baylor College of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation The departmental mission statement, created by its faculty, is as follows: "It is the mission of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation to provide excellence in clinical care, education, and research in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, leading to optimum quality of life for individuals with physical disabilities, while achieving and maintaining its status as one of the preeminent departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the United States."
The Department offers clinical, educational and research programs for medical and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. There are over 58 full-time faculty, 34 residents and 9 fellows with required and elective medical student rotations.
Seven major health care institutions--one federal, three county, six private--form the core of the clinical activities of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. These include Ben Taub General, Quentin /Mease Community, and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospitals in the Harris County Hospital District; St. Luke's Episcopal, Texas Children's and the Methodist Hospitals, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, TIRR Lifebridge Hospital and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Affiliated programs included Vencor-Houston, Transitional Hospital Corporation-Houston, Human Performance and Rehabilitation Center/Medifit of America. Physicians also provide Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation services at Seven Acres Jewish Geriatrics Center and the United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Houston, Incorporated.
These institutions have more than 285 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service beds and 5,100 acute care beds for consultation and electrodiagnostic testing. More than 22,000 consultations and re-evaluations and over 6,000 electrodiagnostic studies are performed annually. Inpatient bed service statistics include over 49,600 patient days of care.
Residents provide inpatient and outpatient care, as well as consultations and electrodiagnostic studies under the direction of staff physicians. The location of the facilities--the world renowned Texas Medical Center--provides a wealth of clinical, educational, and research activities available in few, if any, other Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Departments.
Center for Research on Women with Disabilities
The purpose of the Center for Research on Women with Disabilities, part of the Baylor Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is to conduct research and promote, develop, and disseminate information to expand the life choices of women with disabilities so that they may fully participate in community life. Since its establishment in 1992, the Center has conducted research and training activities on issues related to the health, independence, and community integration of women and men with physical disabilities, primarily with funding from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Education.
The Center's staff include Margaret A. Nosek, Ph.D., director and principal investigator, three collaborating senior investigators, a full-time associate director, four full-time and one part-time support staff, and one post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Nosek, Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine, is an internationally recognized authority on independent living for persons with disabilities and issues of concern to women with disabilities. She is actively involved in efforts to advance the state of research and services for persons with disabilities. In her 11-year tenure at Baylor College of Medicine. She is especially committed to research training and career advancement for persons with disabilities. Seven of the Center's staff have physical disabilities. Dr. Nosek, herself a person with a severe physical disability, has secured funding for and maundered three pre- and post-doctoral fellows with disabilities within the past two years. She is Principal Investigator on a research training grant from the NIH that established five post-doctoral fellowships per year for the next five years in Baylor's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
One of the Center's most notable accomplishments is the establishment of a database on psychosocial behaviors of women with physical disabilities compared to able-bodied women. This database contains 900 responses to a comprehensive national survey and is providing the first empirical data on a population of women with physical disabilities, ages 18 through 85. Preliminary findings have already been introduced to undergraduate and graduate medical training at Baylor College of Medicine and continuing education courses for a broad range of medical practitioners. The Center has received and filled more than 1,000 requests for information on its research findings over the past year. Staff are expanding efforts to conduct trainings and disseminate materials targeting a variety of audiences, including medical professionals, allied health professionals, counselors, social workers, educators, policy analysts, and consumers.
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