What are the GRAIDS?

GRAIDS stands for Guidelines, Recommendations, Adaptations, Including Disability.                

GRAIDS is a tool and framework used to adapt evidence-based health promotion programs to be inclusive of people with disabilities. The GRAIDs are broken down by potential changes in five inclusion domains.

Inclusion Domains: A common set of items used to ensure participation by individuals with disabilities in an existing health promotion program or strategy. The five inclusion domains are Built Environment, Services, Instruction, Equipment & Technology, and Policy.

1. Built Environment: Structural features. Examples include ramps, signage, clear paths/sidewalks, curb cuts, hard floor surfaces, park play equipment, adequate temperature and lighting.
2. Service: Person-to-person assistance or other assistance that increases participation. Examples include providing transportation, a personal shopping aide for a person with a disability, a peer assistant in a physical activity program, and inclusive advertisement or communication.
3. Instruction: (Training & Education) Technique(s) used to enhance learning for the staff within an organization or for the individual with a disability and their family members or caregivers. Examples include webinars, lunch and learns, in-service trainings and seminars.
4. Equipment & Technology: Products or tools used to promote and allow for participation. Examples include sports-related products, utensils, automatic sliding doors, bus lifts and communication devices.
5. Policy: Laws, regulations, rules, protocols and procedures designed to guide or influence behavior. Policies can be either legislative or organizational in nature.

Two ways to use the GRAIDs

1. GRAIDs as a tool:

Apply existing nutrition and physical activity recommendations and adaptations.

Use the existing recommendations and adaptations to make inclusive changes to a program.

Adapt recommendations and adaptations to fit the needs of your program or service.

2. GRAIDs as a Framework:

Adapt programs and services using the five inclusion domains. Apply each of the five domains to the program or service to ensure it is inclusive of people with disabilities

Identify strategies that address areas that are not inclusive of people with disabilities

Implement inclusive changes to your program or service.

Remember

Conduct assessments to identify where there are gaps in disability inclusion or accessibility, and then use the GRAIDs tool and/or framework to identify solutions. Always include people with disabilities in the planning and decision-making process when adapting your program and services.

For a more comprehensive explanation of GRAIDS, check out “GRAIDs: a framework for closing the gap in the availability of health promotion programs and interventions for people with disabilities,” published in 2014.

References

Rimmer JH, Vanderbom KA, Bandini LG, Drum CE, Luken K, Suarez-Balcazar Y, Graham ID. GRAIDs: a framework for closing the gap in the availability of health promotion programs and interventions for people with disabilities. Implement Sci. 2014 Aug 14;9:100. doi: 10.1186/s13012-014-0100-5. PMID: 25123550; PMCID: PMC4148531. 

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