Young people with physical disability – especially adolescents – engage in less physical activity than their peers and face greater barriers to becoming physically active. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for all-cause mortality. In Ireland, only 11% of students with disability in primary and secondary education report engaging in the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity.
A new study from RCSI's School of Physiotherapy and CP-Life Research Centre, led by Dr Ailish Malone and coordinated by PhD scholar Karen Brady, examines how adolescents with a physical disability in Ireland are taking part in physical activity and identifies priorities for their enhanced participation. The CP-Life Research Centre works to improve services and supports for people with cerebral palsy throughout their life.
The study, published in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, aims to provide healthcare professionals and the wider community with insights on supporting young people with physical disabilities to become more involved in and enjoy in physical activities.
Participation in physical activity has physical, mental, and social health and well-being benefits. Insufficient physical activity can have significant future health implications especially for disabled people. For example, adults with cerebral palsy have more than twice the incidence of cardio-respiratory non-communicable diseases, for which physical inactivity is an independent risk factor.
The research team worked with a panel of young people with disability and their parents. These young people helped develop the methods and came up with the project’s working title, ‘Youth Experience Matters’. The panel reached out to others for their input using social media and an interactive wall at the partner clinical site, the Central Remedial Clinic. The study reached 116 adolescents with physical disability who shared 108 different ideas on enhancing physical activity participation, before eventually selecting the top 10 priorities.
Following the study, community involvement continued through dissemination strategies. The research team hosted a World Café of 40 individuals comprising young people with a disability, their families, healthcare professionals, sports organisations, policy makers, researchers and community volunteers. The event facilitated discussion on the findings of the study and the ten priorities for increasing participation in physical activity as identified and chosen by the teenagers. Read about the World Café here.
The team then worked with Resonate Design and illustrator Esther Blodau to create an infographic of the top ten physical activity prioirities for teenagers for widespread sharing.
Dr Malone, Karen Brady and the study team presented their findings at the European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD) conference in Bruges, Belgium on 1 June.
This research was supported by the Central Remedial Clinic and the Health Research Board under the Health Research Charities Ireland Joint Funding Scheme (HRCI-HRB-2022-006).
RCSI is committed to achieving a better and more sustainable future through the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
