Multi-stakeholder perspectives of environmental barriers to participation in travel-related activities after spinal cord injury

Abstract

Purpose

To help enhance participation, the study aims to identify and document a comprehensive list of environmental barriers for people with SCI in the broad travel setting.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted among four stakeholder groups: people with SCI (n= 39), caregivers and family members of people with SCI (n= 24), therapists who work with people with SCI (n= 9), and travel professionals specializing in accessible travel (n= 11).

Results

Five major categories of travel barrier emerged from the interviews: Partial Accessibility, Systemic Ignorance, Travel Hassles, Poor Service Performance, and Lack of Support. Detailed barriers in each category are described. The analysis of multi-stakeholder perspectives indicates while respondents with SCI offered the most specific information about the barriers, family members/caregivers were most concerned about the impact of systemic ignorance on their loved ones. Therapists focused on offering their clients tools to overcome barriers, and travel agents emphasized their limitations of serving customers with disabilities.

Conclusion

Results of the study should help not only health and travel professionals better assist individuals to reintegrate into society after SCI, but also travel and hospitality businesses to better meet the accessibility needs of people with SCI.

Implications for rehabilitation

• Travel is important to full participation in society for people after SCI.

• The study has identified five categories of barriers to travel participation after SCI: partial accessibility, systemic ignorance, travel hassles, poor service performance and lack of support.

• While traveling is important for participation in society for people with SCI, rehabilitation professionals should work together with policy makers, travel and hospitality businesses and agencies to lower the found barriers.

Keywords:

• Environmental barriers
• travel
• spinal cord injury
• participation
• accessibility
• caregiver
• therapist
• travel agents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Craig H. Neilsen Foundation [321788].