PArticipation in Rural Settings to Engage in Communities (PARSEC)

This project assesses the impact of PArticipation in Rural Settings to Engage in Communities (PARSEC), an intervention for families of young adults with autism living in rural areas to increase community participation. Approximately 27,000 individuals with autism reside in a rural community in Pennsylvania. Individuals living in rural communities often experience multiple barriers to community participation. Recent data assessing community participation in young adults with autism demonstrated significantly lower rates and variability of community participation in comparison to same-age peers without autism. Participants will enroll in PARSEC for a minimum of 3 months and up to 12 months. PARSEC is assessed to determine whether participants report higher number of days participating in community activities and more variation of community activities as compared to baseline. Quantitative analyses are used to assess two primary outcomes (e.g., days of community participation, number of community participation activities) from self- and caregiver-report questionnaire. Qualitative analyses are used to assess for satisfaction with the intervention and identify barriers to engagement.

本项目评估农村环境参与社区（PArticipation in Rural Settings to Engage in Communities, PARSEC）的干预效果，该方案专为居住在农村地区的自闭症青年家庭设计，旨在提升其社区参与度。宾夕法尼亚州某农村社区约有27000名自闭症患者。农村社区居民往往面临多重社区参与障碍。近期针对自闭症青年社区参与情况的评估数据显示，与同龄非自闭症群体相比，自闭症青年的社区参与率及参与活动多样性均显著更低。受试者将参与PARSEC方案，时长至少3个月、最长12个月。本研究将对比基线数据，评估受试者的社区活动参与天数是否更多、参与活动种类是否更丰富。研究采用定量分析方法，基于自评及照料者报告问卷，评估两项主要结局指标，即社区活动参与天数、社区参与活动数量；同时采用定性分析方法，评估受试者对干预方案的满意度，并识别参与过程中存在的障碍。