181663 Barriers to physical activity and exercise for adults with intellectual disabilities

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Amy E. Weaver, MPH , Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Dong-Chul Seo, PhD , Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Georgia C. Frey, PhD , Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
There is a higher prevalence of sedentary behavior among adults with intellectual disability (ID) compared to the general population. The majority of research on this topic has focused on assessing physical activity (PA) levels and there are few studies addressing barriers to activity in this population segment. If these barriers are not clearly understood, it will be difficult to develop and implement intervention programs. A systematic research review on these barriers was conducted using combinations of the following search terms: intellectual disabil*, mental retard*, exercise and physical activity in the databases EBSCO, PsycINFO, Social Science Citation Index, CINAHL Plus, and SPORTDiscus. Reference lists from each reviewed article were also examined. Original research articles published after 1997 with primary intention of identifying PA determinants that included age 18+ adults with ID were included. In total, 388 citations were returned, after screening for repeated articles and inclusion criteria, 6 were included in the analysis. The primary barriers that reoccurred throughout the papers were transportation issues, financial limitations and lack of awareness of options. Other salient barriers included negative supports from caregivers and authority figures (e.g. teachers, coaches and parents) and lack of clear policies for engaging in regular activity in residential and day service programs. Although the research is limited, there are clear barriers to PA to target. Of primary importance is the development of policies among agencies that serve individuals with ID that could help minimize transportation, financial and educational barriers, which are more modifiable than negative supports.

Learning Objectives:
To identify barriers to physical activity and exercise for adults with intellectual disability based on current research. To learn directions for health promotion interventions for people with intellectual disability that take into account these modifiable barriers.

Keywords: Disability, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conducted the systematic review and written the article abstract being submitted with guidance from the second and third authors.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.