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Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health (CARTEEH)

A USDOT University Transportation Center

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Rides to Wellness Initiative (RTWI)

The Rides to Wellness Initiative (RTWI) is aimed to utilize both the public and private transportation system to increase access to healthcare and improve health outcomes at a reduced cost, especially among the people with disabilities, older adults, and people with chronic health conditions.1 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than half of the American population are diagnosed with at least one chronic disease, and about 25 percent of adults are disabled.2 The Bureau Transportation Statistics (BTS) also reports that about 32 percent of the elderly disabled population needs transportation assistance.3 The above statistics shows the importance of RTWI in achieving healthy population through effective transportation system. Through RTWI, the transportation community will be recognized as an essential partner with the public health and medical communities. This collaboration will open room for investments, community grants, and commitments between communities.

Considering this strategy will help achieve the goal of the following objectives

  • Less Contamination
  • Less Emissions
  • Less Traffic Noise
  • Connectivity and Inclusion
  • Healthy Destinations
  • Less Traffic Violence
  • Active Transportation
  • Green Space

Transportation lifecycle phases

This strategy is associated with the following transportation lifecycle phases:

  • Construction
  • End of Life
  • Maintenance
  • Material Selection
  • Operations
  • Policy and Planning
  • Project Development

Who's involved

  • Healthcare providers
  • NGOs
  • Policymakers
  • Transit agencies
  • Vulnerable road users
The Rides to Wellness Initiative (RTWI) is aimed to utilize both the public and private transportation system to increase access to healthcare and improve health outcomes at a reduced cost, especially among the people with disabilities, older adults, and people with chronic health conditions.1
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than half of the American population are diagnosed with at least one chronic disease, and about 25 percent of adults are disabled.2 The Bureau Transportation Statistics (BTS) also reports that about 32 percent of the elderly disabled population needs transportation assistance.3 The above statistics shows the importance of RTWI in achieving healthy population through effective transportation system.
Through RTWI, the transportation community will be recognized as an essential partner with the public health and medical communities. This collaboration will open room for investments, community grants, and commitments between communities.

How it Helps

With a partnership between transportation and medical institutes, there will be increased access to quality healthcare at reduced cost for vulnerable populations. This will lead to improved health conditions for people with chronic diseases, reduced health disparities, and reduced hospital readmission. Additionally, there will be easy scheduling of appointments and high reduction in missed appointments.6

Implementing

Target Population:

To implement RTWI, the data of the vulnerable population for which transportation barriers appear to disproportionately impact needs to be presented. This will cover the percentage of veterans, older adults, people with disabilities, chronically ill patients, and other groups who have limited or no access to transportation to healthcare facilities or medical appointments.4

Cost:

The RTWI implementation cost of transportation subsidies (vouchers) for vulnerable population, incentives for private and public drivers, and other miscellaneous expenses should be estimated. There should be a proper planning on how, when, and where to obtain sponsorship, grants, or partnership to alleviate the costs.

Partnership:

Partnerships between transportation agencies and healthcare institutes is a key factor to implement this strategy. Effective partnerships can yield lower transportation costs for the target population, while providing more commuters (customers) for the transit agencies involved. In addition, partnerships with other stakeholders like non-governmental agencies and other interested individuals or companies will be essential for creating awareness, fundraising, and overall functioning of the program.5

Monitoring and Evaluation:

The effectiveness of RTWI in achieving the set objectives can be evaluated through:
– Estimating the number of clinic visits by vulnerable population pre- and 2 years post-implementation of the strategy
– Estimating the number missed appointments by the target population pre- and post-implementation of RTWI
– Estimating the cost on healthcare pre- and post-implementation to evaluate cost-effectiveness
– Monitoring the health status and quality of life of patients 2 years after implementation of the policy

Examples

1) Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA)

Flint MTA provides county-wide transportation for Flint and other cities in Genesee County, Michigan. Its Ride to Wellness program in 2016, and it provides same-day, door-to-door, and non-emergency transportation for riders going for medical or other health-related appointments. RTWI has been successful since its adoption, providing more than 50,000 rides in its first year of operation.

https://www.mtaflint.org/rides-to-wellness/

2) Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services

The Ride to Wellness program in the Salt Lake County, Utah provides transportation for older adults (60 years and up) to vital appointments including dialysis, chemotherapy, and physical therapy.

https://slco.org/aging-adult-services/senior-transportation/

1. Exploring Data and Metrics of Value at the Intersection of Health Care and Transportation: Proceedings of a Workshop. (n.d.). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK402415/
2. CDC. (2021). Prevalence of Disability and Disability Types by Urban-Rural County Classification—United States, 2016. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/features/disability-prevalence-rural-urban.html
3. Sweeney, M. (2011). Travel Patterns of Older Americans with Disabilities. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. https://www.bts.gov/archive/publications/bts_working_papers/2004/paper_01/entire
4. Health Outreach Partners. (2017). Rides to Wellness Community Scan Project. https://outreach-partners.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FTA-Comm-Profiles-2.pdf
5. NCMM. (2014). Rides to Wellness: Implementation Guide. https://nationalcenterformobilitymanagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Rides-to-Wellness-Implementation-Guide-final1.pdf
6. Federal Transit Administration. Rides to Wellness. https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/Rides%20to%20Wellness_0.pdf