Public Health Perspectives on Disability (PDF)

Since joining OHSU in 2001, her research has focused on disparities in health and access to health care as they impact youth and adults with disabilities. She has particular interests in reproductive health of women with disabilities, intersectionality of disability with other marginalized identities, and measurement of health-related quality of life in the context of disability. She directs the Oregon Office on Disability and Health, a CDC-funded project to monitor and promote the health of individuals with disabilities in Oregon. She is active in disability-related professional organizations nationally and internationally, and is a Past-Chair of the Disability Section of the American Public Health Association.



Katherine Froehlich-Grobe, PhD, is Acting Director of Research at Baylor Scott and White Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas, Texas, USA, where she has been since 2016, having spent 16 years in academia at the University of Kansas Medical Center, the University of Kansas, and the University of Texas School of Public Health, where she maintains an adjunct faculty appointment and continues teaching a course on Disability and Public Health. Dr. Froehlich-Grobe received her graduate training in behavioral psychology and has spent her professional career conducting research to enhance access to and engagement in health behaviors for community-dwelling individuals who live with disabilities. Her research program has focused on developing and testing evidence- and theory-based strategies to promote behavior change around dietary intake and physical activity for individuals with physical disabilities with support from the NIH, CDC, NIDILRR, and private foundations. Dr. Froehlich-Grobe's research has explored social determinants of health, specifically perceived and environmental barriers to exercise that people with disabilities face. She has conducted several interventionstudies that target reducing exercise barriers that wheelchair users encounter including lack of available and affordable transportation and accessible equipment combined with teaching behavioral self-management strategies to initiate an exercise program.