Unpacking barriers to healthy lifestyles from the perspective of youth with disabilities and their parents

Abstract

Adolescents and young adults with disabilities experience several health inequalities and challenges in maintaining healthy lifestyles. As a group, individuals with disabilities experience higher rates of obesity compared to youth without disabilities. This study was designed to examine the types of challenges experienced by youth with disabilities and parents of youth with disabilities in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Strong evidence indicates that having a healthy lifestyle and preventing obesity are not only the result of an individual's behavior related to physical activity and consumption of healthy products but also several complex factors in the person's environment. This study was designed to understand the perceptions of youth with disabilities and their parents about the challenges they experience in engaging in physical activity and consuming healthy products, and ideas and strategies for promoting healthy lifestyles. Overall, youth with disabilities lack access to opportunities for engaging in physical activity as well as access to affordable foods. Implications for systems and policy changes are discussed.

Barriers to and facilitators of community participation among Latinx migrants with disabilities in the United States and Latinx migrant workers in Canada: An ecological analysis

“…Similar to the individual level, at the interpersonal level, family members of the person with a disability often report lack of knowledge of disability rights and services. In focus groups we conducted with Latinx families with youth and young adults with disabilities, parents reported experiencing lack of knowledge about disability rights, lack of entitlement to request disability services or advocate for the rights of their children or member with a disability, and lack of knowledge of services in Spanish, among other concerns (Suarez‐Balcazar et al, 2018). These issues often disincentivize them from participating in their communities and seeking services.…”

“…Unfortunately, these and other inequities are widely disregarded, in part because Latinx immigrants lack the structural power and support to make their voices heard (Suarez‐Balcazar, 2020). Often, they are denied the opportunity to participate in community programming, cannot afford the fees and expenses required in some settings, or there is lack of accessible programming needed to enable their participation (Suarez‐Balcazar et al, 2018).…”

“…Access to inclusive programming at local parks and recreation facilities can enable participation, while poor street conditions, lack of accessible ramps, and accessible environments for people using wheelchairs limit participation. In focus groups we conducted with Latinx youth and young adults with disabilities in Chicago, participants reported a lack of accessible recreational and social opportunities and limited access to transportation as some of the barriers they experience when going out into the community (Suarez‐Balcazar et al, 2018).…”

The role of vending channels in marketing: A systematic review and taxonomy of studies

“…For example, one study presented a theoretical framework of the social ecological model, which classified the food influencers toward a healthy school environment into five categories: (1) students, (2) role models (e.g., peers, family members, and teachers), (3) community (e.g., schools), (4) institutions (e.g., vending suppliers and retailers), and (5) public policymakers (Suarez‐Balcazar et al ., 2007). Recently, several attempts have been made to improve this model, but the contributions are limited in scope (i.e., covering a few stakeholders), theoretical, or based on qualitative data analysis (Ali et al ., 2015; Suarez‐Balcazar et al ., 2018). However, there are no empirical studies adopting a multi‐dimensional perspective to measure the individual or synergistic effects of determinants on the promotion of healthy items and the inter‐relatedness of the different stakeholders.…”

Participatory research: A promising approach to promote meaningful engagement

“…Balcazar et al [29] has asserted that there are different levels of community participation in research activities in a continuum from equal involvement in all decisions and aspects of the research process, to involvement in some aspects of the research process such as identifying the issues and solutions, and/or taking action. Regardless, the voices of those most impacted by the participatory research endeavor (often referred to as participants, members, or citizens) is in focus [30]. According to Balcazar et al [29], community participation in research needs to be meaningful and substantial; desires of the participants should drive the research process.…”