Background Despite the widely known benefits of physical activity, people with disabilities are more likely to be inactive when compared to people without disabilities. Previous questionnaires that measure barriers physical activity for people with disabilities do not measure barriers from an ecological perspective. Objective The purpose of this study was to develop the Barriers to Physical Activity Questionnaire for People with Mobility Impairments (BPAQ-MI) that measures barriers using an ecological framework. Methods This study consisted of two phases. In Phase one, developed the content validity by (a) developing an item bank, (b) identifying missing items and combining items using a Delphi panel, and (c) refine item wording via cognitive interviews. In Phase two, people with mobility impairments took part in in-person interviews to establish test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity of the BPAQ-MI. Results Exploratory factor analysis revealed the BPAQ-MI was comprised of eight subscales or factors: health; beliefs and attitudes; family; friends; fitness center built environment; staff and policy; community built environment; and safety. The BPAQ-MI demonstrated very good test-retest reliability. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.792 to 0.935. The BPAQ-MI showed significant negative correlations with exercise (minutes/week) and significant positive correlations between BPAQ-MI subscales and inactivity (hours/day). Conclusions The BPAQ-MI is the first questionnaire that places greater equity at measuring barriers to physical activity across the intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and community domains. The BPAQ-MI has the potential to assist researchers in understanding the complex relationship between barriers and ultimately develop physical activity interventions that address these barriers.

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Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and co-occurring Intellectual Disabilities (ASD + ID) experience substantial challenges in accessing needed supports. This research aimed to understand the prevalence and factors associated with food insecurity among families of children with ASD + ID. Utilizing the National Survey of Childrens Health (2016-18) data, this paper illustrated that the households of children with ASD + ID were about two times more likely to be food insecure than the households of children without disabilities. Further, the households of children with ASD were 1.5 times more likely, and those with other disabilities were 1.3 times more likely to be food insecure than the households of children without disabilities. Implications of these findings in the context of the COVID19 pandemic are discussed.

Objectives: To explore differences in food insecurity for individuals and families of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the COVID-19 pandemic by individual, family, and neighborhood characteristics. Methods: We surveyed a convenience sample of households of people with ASD. We calculated food insecurity using items from the US Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. Results: Over half of all respondents reported being food insecure (51.8%). Respondents who reported being food insecure were more likely to be minority, have a high school education or less, be on public insurance or uninsured, live in urban/rural communities, and say that their community is not supportive. The majority of respondents did not get free food or groceries (53.2%). Food insecure respondents who got free food was most likely to get them from schools (34.2%). Conclusion: This is the first study of its kind to explore food security in households of people with ASD. The pandemic has exacerbated existing neighborhood disparities. The federal response to food insecurity caused by the pandemic needs to be further explored especially for preferred and medically necessary foods for people with ASD.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the likelihood of meeting the physical activity guidelines in veterans who are obese by disability status. Design: We used data from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a cross-sectional telephone survey. The mean response rate was 44.9%. Setting: Respondents came from all 50 states, District of Columbia, and 3 US territories. Patients: Respondents included veterans self-reporting being obese (N = 13 798). Measures: We created a mutually exclusive disability variable: no disability, multiple disability, and limitations only with hearing, vision, cognitive, mobility, Activities of Daily Living, or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Physical activity guidelines were defined as 150 minutes/week of aerobic activity and 2 days/week of strength activities. Analysis: Prevalence ratios (PRs) were calculated by performing separate log-binomial regression models for meeting strength and aerobic recommendations on veterans who were obese. Results: Obese veterans with mobility limitations only or multiple disabilities were significantly less likely to meet the aerobic (PR = 0.74, P = .002 and PR = .62, P = .021, respectively) or strength (PR = .76, P < .001 and PR = 0.74, P < .001, respectively) recommendations, compared to not having a disability (n = 7964). Conclusions: Inactivity could be explained by a lack of inclusive weight loss programs for veterans with disabilities and barriers to physical activity encountered by people with disabilities. Two primary limitations of this study are self-report of obesity and physical activity and exclusion of adults in institutional settings.