The guidelines can be used by government and private entities and organizations that create, implement, or oversee program initiatives and policies in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, and obesity. These guidelines are intended to be broad enough to cover a variety of local, state, and national programs. They will be used to assure inclusion of disability as government agencies and community organizations develop plans to implement community health promotion strategies that are based on national recommendations. The Guidelines for Disability Inclusion can also be used to evaluate whether plans and programs effectively include people with disabilities.
The criteria approved by the national panel of experts to approve or deny each of the guidelines can be seen in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Criteria Approved by Expert Panel
*The guidelines were unanimously approved by the expert panel, using the following criteria:
| Criterion | Description |
| Reach | The guideline is likely to affect a large percentage of the target population. |
| Sustainability | The guideline has potential to endure over time. |
| Transferability | The guideline can be implemented in communities that differ in size, resources, and demographics. |
| Utility | The guideline will assist state organizations and others to plan and monitor community-level programs and strategies. |
| Feasibility | Required knowledge, skills, staff, equipment, or other resources to implement the guideline are not exceedingly prohibitive to putting it in place for the target population. |
| Inclusion | The guideline is likely to promote inclusion of people with a range of different disabilities. |
The national panel of experts included:
- Mary Andrus – Assistant Vice President, Government Relations, Easter Seals
- Linda Bandini – Professor, University of Massachusetts
- Michelle Camicia – Director, Rehabilitation Operations, Kaiser Foundation Rehabilitation Center
- Jayne Greenberg – Miami Dade County Schools
- Erica C. Jones – Executive Director of the Pacific ADA Center
- June Kailes – Disability Policy Consultant and Adjunct Associate Professor and the Associate Director of the Center for Disability and the Health Policy at Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, California
- Barbara Kornblau – Health Policy Consultant
- Jennifer Li and Sarah Yates – National Association of City and County Health Officers (NACCHO)
- Teresa Pagelow – Director of the State Office of Disability and Health in New York
- Clarke Ross – American Association for Health and Disability (AAHD)
- Jeff Underwood – President and CEO, Lakeshore Foundation and former state senator and USOC Paralympic Advisory Council member
- Sandra Viera – Prevention Institute