The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #38853

James H. Rimmer, PhD, Amy Rauworth, MS, and Barth Riley, PhD. Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1640 West Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL 60608, 312/413-9651, jrimmer@uic.edu

This study examined the perceived barriers and facilitators of fitness and recreation venues reported by people with disabilities, architects, city and park district managers, and fitness and recreation professionals. Focus groups were conducted in 10 regions around the United States. Four two hour focus group sessions were arranged with each of the four groups in each region: 1) consumers, 2)architects, 3)city and park district managers, 4)fitness and recreation professionals. Major barriers and facilitators as to why people with mobility limitations were or were not using fitness and recreation facilities were different for each group. Consumers identified cost of the program and transportation as major barriers to participation, and scholarships, sliding fee scales, and programs that offer transportation as major facilitators. Cost of accessible equipment, retro-fitting existing equipment, and other financially-related costs (i.e., transit planning) were perceived as the greatest barriers among the professional groups(groups 2,3,4). More education was noted by the professional groups as one of the most important facilitators for increasing accessibilty.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand barriers and facilitators to accessing fitness and recreation facilities perceived by people with disabilities and professionals who work in these settings.

Keywords: Access, Disability

Related Web page: www.aimfree.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.