Ashley Walker
Director, Graduate Studies | Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA, UNITED STATES
Ashley Walker's work encompasses both disability care services and community based research.
Areas of Expertise (2)
Health Studies
Community Health
Education (1)
Texas Women's University: Ph.D., Community Health/Health Studies 2008
Articles (3)
“When Everything Changes:” Parent Perspectives on the Challenges of Accessing Care for a Child with a Disability
Disability and Health JournalAshley Walker, Moya L. Alfonso, Gavin Colquitt, Kimberly Weeks, Joseph Telfair
2016 Health disparities exist among individuals living in rural and urban contexts in terms of access to health care and overall mortality. These disparities are typically greater for youth with disabilities living in rural areas, who face additional barriers in receiving health and support services specific to their disability. Parents are typically the ones responsible for coordinating the care needed by children with a disability; however, with numerous barriers present families are not provided adequate support to care for a child with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine barriers and facilitators to accessing health and support services among urban and rural families of children with disabilities. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents who provide care for an adolescent with a disability. The sample was comprised of parents from one rural county (N = 9) and one urban county (N = 10) in Georgia. Parental interviews were conducted face to face by a trained researcher. Each interview was audio-recorded. The recordings were transcribed and content analysis used to create codes and identify emerging themes. The common themes found during the analysis include accessibility of health and support resources, transitions, and social isolation. When comparing urban and rural areas, barriers to access do differ in terms of availability, but analysis revealed more similarities existed among parents from both contexts. Efforts must be made to increase opportunities for youth with disabilities to become connected with the local community in order to improve quality of life for families.
Relationships Among Meeting Physical Activity Guidelines and Health Risk Behaviors
Journal of Physical Activity and HealthAshley Walker, Jody Langdon, Krystina Johnson
2015 Background: Young adults have the highest participation in physical activity but also have the highest incidence rates of binge drinking, cigarette smoking, and smokeless tobacco use. We examined these factors to determine whether there are relationships among physical activity and health risk behaviors.
“It All Goes Back to the Services”: A Rural/Urban Comparison of Service Providers’ Perceptions of Challenges and Facilitators to Disability Services
Open Journal of Preventive MedicineMoya L. Alfonso, Ashley Walker, Akrati Gupta, Joseph Telfair, Gavin Colquitt
2015 Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore rural/urban differences in service providers’ perceptions of challenges and facilitators to services for children with special health care needs (CSHN) and their families in southeast Georgia.
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