Investigating environmental factors and paralympic sports: an analytical study

Abstract

Purpose

Few studies have reported the influence of environmental factors that may act as barriers or facilitators to participation in parasports. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse the relationship between environmental factors present in parasports (attitudes, support, services, assistive technology and policies). In addition, we present the concurrent validation of the Assistive Technology Device Predisposition Assessment (ATD PA-Br).

Materials and methods

Sixty-three adult Paralympic athletes with physical and/or visual impairment who practiced goalball, wheelchair tennis, table tennis, sitting volleyball, rugby, swimming, equestrianism, weightlifting, track and field, archery, bocce ball and parabadminton were analysed. Sociodemographic questionnaires, ATDPA-Br and QUEST B were used for data collection and analysed by 5% significance level (p < 0.05).

Results

The findings showed a predominance of athletes with spinal cord injury playing rugby (11) and parabadminton (9), 25.4% exhibited low sociodemographic levels, 36.5% required a wheelchair and 9.6% used prostheses. Although 90.5% of participants reported that assistive technology helped them in their sport, they also expressed dissatisfaction with the services provided. There was a significant correlation between satisfaction with the device in the QUEST instrument and the positive psychosocial factors of the ATDPA-Br, meaning the larger the number of positive factors, the greater the satisfaction with the device.

Conclusion

This study showed the predominance of low-income parathletes and that environmental factor as access to the benefits of public policies, it may be a barrier to participation in parasports. Also, the technology and the services provided should act as facilitators to parasport performance.

Implications for rehabilitation

• Understand the objectives of assistive technology in paralympic sports.

• Identify the environmental factors present in parasports (attitudes, support, services, assistive technology, and policies).

• Analyze the relationship between environmental factors present in parasports (attitudes, support, services, assistive technology, and policies).

• Have access to the concurrent validation of the Assistive Technology Device Predisposition Assessment (ATD PA-Br).

Keywords:

• Assistive technology
• parasport
• participation
• occupational therapy
• assessment
• people with disabilities

Acknowledgements

To the team and the parathletes of the Training Center of Special Physical Education - CETEFE; to the research group Nucleus of Assistive Technology and Innovation of the Center West - NTAAI and to the financial support of the Foundation of Support and Research of the Federal District - FAP. DF.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Foundation to Support Research in the Federal District (FAP-DF) under Grant [3-2016].