Alfiya Battalova holds a PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Alfiya's research interests include community engagement, disability and social policies, health equity, advocacy, human rights, performance measurement and evaluation, disability in non-Western contexts, mental health and substance use.
Her recent work focuses on the experiences of people with disabilities in the municipal advisory committees and their impact on the policymaking process.
Alfiya views disability not just as an important area of research but also as a lens for understanding the issues of social justice. Her work was published in Disability & Society, Social Science and Medicine, Disability Studies Quarterly.
Experience
Alfiya has an extensive experience working in community-based organizations that focus on health equity and accessibility.
She enjoys working with community partners on applied projects that bring value to local communities.
Her professional expertise includes program development, performance measurement and evaluation, strategic planning.
As a Credentialed Evaluator, Alfiya supported organizations in all stages of performance measurement and evaluation.
Memberships and Committees
- Canadian Evaluation Society
- Canadian Sociological Association
- Society for Disability Studies
- Society for the Study of Social Problems
Education
2022
Credentialed Evaluator
Canadian Evaluation Society
2016
PhD in Disability Studies
University of Illinois at Chicago
2009
Master’s in Public Administration
University of Maine
Awards
2017
UIC College of Applied Health Sciences
Outstanding Student Achievement Award
2017
Charlotte A. Tate Multidisciplinary Research Award
UIC Department of Disability and Human Development
Research
Research interest
Disability
Qualitative research
Program evaluation
Publications
Orozova, R., Battalova, A., & Bagdasarova, N. (2023). A Critical Analysis of the Disability Movement in Kyrgyzstan: Trying To Be Heard. Europe-Asia Studies, 1-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2023.2179602
Jarus, T., Krupa, T., Mayer, Y., Battalova, A., Bulk, L.Y., Lee, M., Nimmon, L., Earllene R. (2022). Negotiating Legitimacy and Belonging: Disabled students’ and Practitioners’ experience. Medical Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.15002
Mayer, Y., Shalev, M., Nimmon, L., Krupa, T., Bulk, L. Y., M., Battalova, A., Lee, M., & Jarus, T. (2022). Social Support Experiences of Students and Clinicians with Disabilities in Health Professions. Advances in Health and Science Education.DOI: https://trebuchet.public.springernature.app/get_content/1e14faf0-5c12-424d-aa9f-9d367125189f
Kirby, RL., Smith, C., Mortenson, W.B., Battalova, A., Hurd, L., Hobson, S., Jang S., & Emery, R. (2022). Qualitative experiences of new motorised mobility scooter users relevant to their scooter skills: a secondary analysis. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 18(1), 89-96. DOI: 10.1080/17483107.2022.2063422
Battalova, A., Hurd, L., Hobson, S., Kirby RL., Emery, R. (2022). “Dirty looks”: A critical phenomenology of motorized mobility scooter use. Social Science and Medicine, 297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114810
Jarus, T., Liao, P., Battalova, A., Tikhonova, J., Das, S., Krejcik, V., & Mayer, Y. (2022). Policies as barriers for disabled medical learners: Exploratory study of learners’ perspectives. Disability & Society, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2022.2041403
Battalova, A. (2022). Human Rights. In Duquaine-Watson, J.D., Women’s Health: Understanding Issues and Influences. ABC-CLIO Press.
Battalova, A. (2022). Disabilities. In Duquaine-Watson, J.D., Women’s Health: Understanding Issues and Influences. ABC-CLIO Press.
Corcuff, M., Routhier, F., Paquette-Raynard, E., Gagnon, M., Battalova, A., Mwaka, C., & Lamontagne, M. E. (2022). Organizations' Strategies to Improve Implementation of Universal Accessibility Principles: Protocol for a Scoping Review. JMIR research protocols, 11(7), e33641. https://doi.org/10.2196/33641
Duddy, J., Lee, M., McIvor, E., Kerber, P., Battalova, A. (2021). Practice Note from a Participatory Impact Evaluation of a Leadership Development Program for People Living with HIV. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 36(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.68386
Battalova, A. (2021). Expanding the meaning of citizenship: "evacuation" of people with disabilities in Russia from the institutions during COVID-19. Disability Studies Quarterly, 41(3). https://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/article/view/8396/6194
Mortenson, W. B., Battalova, A., Hurd, L., Hobson, S., Emery, R., Kirby, R. L. Correlates of self-reported Wheelchair Skills Test Questionnaire scores of new users of mobility scooters: A cross-sectional study. (2021). Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 102(10), e8. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2021.1874065
Battalova, A. (2021). Crossing the borderlands: on conducting research on disability and motherhood in Russia, In Driedger, D. (Ed.), Still Living the Edges: A Disabled Women's Reader. Toronto, ON: Inanna Publications and Education Inc.
Battalova, A., Bulk, L., Nimmon, L., Hole, R., Krupa, T., Mayer, Y., & Jarus, T. (2020). “I Can Understand Where They’re Coming From”: How Clinicians’ Disability Experiences Shape Their Interaction With Clients. Qualitative Health Research, 30(13), 2064-2076. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320922193
Battalova, A. (2019). Ambivalent subjectivities: experiences of mothers with disabilities in Russia. Disability & Society, 34(6), 904-925. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.1580563
Battalova, A. (2019). Negotiation of care practices by mothers with disabilities in Russia. International Journal of Care and Caring, 3(4), 549-565. https://doi.org/10.1332/239788219X15682725838060
Battalova, A. (2019). Feminist Disability Studies. In T. Heller, S. Parker Harris, C. Gill, & R. Gould (Eds.), Disability in American Life. An Encyclopedia of Concepts, Policies, and Controversies (pp. 282-285). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Jarus, T., Bezati, R., Trivett, S., Lee, M., Bulk, L.Y., Battalova, A., Mayer, Y., Murphy, S., Gerber, P. and Drynan, D. (2019). Professionalism and disabled clinicians: the client’s perspective. Disability & Society, 35(7), 1085-1102. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.1669436
Bulk, L.Y., Tikhonova, J., Gagnon, J.M., Battalova, A., Mayer, Y., Krupa, T., Lee, M., Nimmon, L. and Jarus, T. (2019). Disabled healthcare professionals’ diverse, embodied, and socially embedded experiences. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 25(1), 111-129. DOI: 10.1007/s10459-019-09912-6.
Ginis, K. A. M., Shaw, R. B., Stork, M. J., Battalova, A., & McBride, C. B. (2018). Pilot study of a training program to enhance transformational leadership in Spinal Cord Injury Peer Mentors. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 4(1), 34. DOI: 10.1038/s41394-018-0065-8
Battalova, A. (2017). Interrupted Trajectory: The Experiences of Disability and Homeschooling in Post-Soviet Russia, In Silova, I., Millei, Z. & Piattoeva, N. (Eds.), Childhood and Schooling in (Post) Socialist Societies: Memories and Experiences (pp. 163-182). Palgrave MacMillan