Barriers to and Facilitators of Sports Participation in People With Visual Impairments

Abstract

We examined barriers to and facilitators of sports participation in people with visual impairments. Participants registered at Royal Visio, Bartiméus, and the Eye Association were invited to complete a questionnaire (telephone or online). Six hundred forty-eight of the invited participants (13%) completed the questionnaire, and 63% of the respondents reported sports participation. Walking (43%), fitness (34%), and cycling (34%) were frequently mentioned sports. Costs, lack of peers/buddies, and visual impairment were negatively associated with sports participation, whereas higher education and computer (software) use were positively associated. The most important personal barrier was visual impairment; transport was the most important environmental barrier. Active participants also mentioned dependence on others as a personal barrier. The most important personal facilitators were health, fun, and social contacts; support from family was the most important environmental facilitator. To improve sports participation in people with visual impairments, the emphasis in a sports program should be on the positive aspects of sports, such as fun, health, and social contacts.

Physical Activity for Adults with Visual Impairments: Impact of Socio-Demographic Factors

“…This study explored the impact of a number of visual impairment specific sociodemographic factors on physical activity participation as well. Little previous research (Jaarsma et al, 2014;Marmeleira et al, 2014) has considered these variables in adults with visual impairments and the findings of those studies are consistent with the current research. Specifically, previous studies and the current study agree in that items such as the degree (e.g., B1, B2) and age of acquisition (e.g., congenital, after birth) of visual impairments do not predict physical activity participation (Jaarsma et al, 2014;Marmeleira et al, 2014).…”

“…Interestingly, participants in this study (while not statistically significant negative β value) with less college education experience reported more physical activity than those with more college education experience. These results conflict with research by Jaarsma et al (2014), but can be partly explained by use of a binary variable (i.e., having or not having post-secondary education experience) in their study and the use of different levels of experience in higher education (i.e., some bachelors experience, completed bachelors experience, etc.) in the current study.…”

“…Similarly, unlike research pertaining to those without visual impairments, ethnicity/race was not found to impact physical activity participation. College education was another socio-demographic variable that was tested in this study, as previous research on adults without (CDC 2014) and with (Jaarsma et al, 2014) visual impairments indicates that those with postsecondary experience would be more physically active. However, in the current study, college education was not a significant predictor of physical activity.…”

“…Other sociodemographic factors specific to those with visual impairments, such as visual impairment classification level and whether the impairments are congenital or acquired (e.g., on-set later in life), have also been found not to influence physical activity participation (Marmeleira et al 2014). However, these factors may influence the types of activities that those with visual impairments choose (Lieberman & McHugh, 2001) and barriers one may experience when participating in activities (Jaarsma et al,. 2014).…”

Percepção De Qualidade De Sono E De Vida Em Atletas Paralímpicos: Comparação Entre Atletas Com Deficiência Física E Visual

“…Muitas pessoas com DF não participam de esporte regularmente por falta de oportunidades, dificuldades com a acessibilidade e transportes 28 . Pessoas com DV relatam que a principal barreira ambiental para a prática esportiva é o transporte e a principal barreira pessoal é a dependência de outras pessoas 29 . Uma vez que o domínio ambiental refere-se ao ambiente físico, como acesso aos lugares públicos, segurança física, proteção e transporte 19 , uma possível explicação para esse resultado seria o fato de ainda hoje a arquitetura de muitas construções não serem concebidas para atender às necessidades das pessoas com deficiência 30 .…”