True inclusion: evaluation protocol for an approach to increase meaningful participation of children with disability in athletics

Children with disability face many barriers to participating in community sports. Little Athletics Australia aims to increase fair and meaningful inclusion via a new structure which will enable all children to take part in the same contest by competing for their 'personal best' score. Named the True Inclusion Method (TIM), this new structure will be piloted in 13 sites across six states. Formative evaluation of this pilot will critique TIM and its implementation using observations of events, and interviews and surveys with child athletes with and without disability, their parents/carers and Little Athletics volunteers. Implementation outcomes are acceptability, appropriateness, adoption, feasibility and fidelity. Qualitative data will be analysed thematically. TIM is designed to encourage inclusive participation by children with disability in sporting events, and to improve the competitive experience for all children by celebrating personal achievement and fostering fun.

Narrowing the Definition of Social Inclusion in Sport for People with Disabilities through a Scoping Review

The concept and practice of social inclusion in sport are still undefined, causing confusion both in the field of sport policy and practice. According to the United Nations (UN), a conceptual and analytical work on what constitutes inclusion is needed. Therefore, this study aims to define social inclusion in sport for people with disabilities by reviewing the existing literature. Using a scoping review framework, articles related to a possible definition of social inclusion in sport or to the elements of this definition were reviewed. For the eighteen (18) articles selected, the focus was on 152 statements, which were grouped into 6 main categories, namely: policy (29), fundamental conditions (28), key elements (30), soft skills (20), field gaps (31), and best practices (14). Ten keywords were extracted from each of the six categories using the free online program cortical.io. All 60 keywords were then compared with each other. After deleting the duplicates, 24 keywords remained, which were classified into five major categories: (1) key people, (2) key environments, (3) key ways to use, (4) key benefits, and (5) key barriers, in order to create a descriptive definition of social inclusion in sport for people with disabilities that can contribute to the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda. In addition to the definition, relevant issues were also raised for in-depth discussion and further research.

"Sports for All"-An Evaluation of a Community Based Physical Activity Program on the Access to Mainstream Sport for Children with Intellectual Disability

Access to club sports is still not a given for children with ID. Parents and children report numerous structural and social barriers to accessing mainstream sports. Sports clubs, on the other hand, want to include this group of people, but often do not know how to do it. Using a community-based approach, children with intellectual disabilities (8-15 years) and their parents were given the opportunity to participate in an 8-week sports program in four mainstream clubs organized by a self-help organization for people with intellectual disabilities. Focus groups were conducted with all participants (parents, children, and club representatives) before and after the program and evaluated by means of a thematic analysis. The children rated participation very positively and only very occasionally reported that they had been excluded. The parents confirmed this experience, but were nevertheless more critical in their assessment. Outside the research context of this study, the sports clubs hardly provided good support, which can also be deduced from previous negative experiences of the parents. The sports clubs themselves received valuable information about what their failings were: sufficiently available and qualified staff, better access to sports facilities, and a wider range of inclusive groups are needed. On the other hand, there was hardly any prejudice on the part of the non-disabled club members towards the new members with ID, which was evaluated extremely positively, albeit surprisingly, by the sports clubs.

Youth Perspectives on What Makes a Sports Club a Health-Promoting Setting-Viewed through a Salutogenic Settings-Based Lens

Sports participation has the potential to contribute to young people’s health. A prerequisite for young people to benefit from sports is that they stay in sports. Studies that consider both personal and contextual factors are needed to unpack the broader health-promoting potential of youth sports. The purpose of the study is to contribute to knowledge about the health-promoting potential of young people’s participation in organized sports by exploring youth perspectives on what makes a sports club health-promoting with a focus on health resources that young people consider important for sports club participation. For this cross-sectional study a brief survey was conducted with 15–16 year old students (n = 123) at two schools in Sweden, asking three open-ended questions about their participation in sports. The study used a salutogenic theory-driven analysis in combination with statistical analysis. Five health resources that young people consider important for sports club participation are revealed. On an individual, more ‘swimmer’-related level, these are personal well-being and social relations, including relationally meaningful activities, and on an organizational level, relating to the ‘river’, that sports clubs offer a supportive and well-functioning environment. For sports clubs to be health-promoting settings for young people and thus hopefully to reduce drop-out, we need a more sustainable approach emphasizing drop-in, drop-through, and drop-over as a continuous iterative process. We also need to consider the complexity of sports participation for young people, involving individual, organizational and environmental issues.

Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School

Social networks affect health. In this empirical study, friendship networks in integrative organized sports were examined and then compared with friendship networks in integrative school. Relevant factors for friendship network formation were investigated, with a particular interest in the relevance of intellectual disability. Advanced social network analysis was performed using exponential random graph modeling (ERGM) on individual attributes and dyadic factors, while controlling for network structures. A meta-analysis of estimated ERGMs in each setting, organized sports and school, was conducted. When controlling for all other included factors, intellectual disability is not relevant for friendship networks in organized sports. Athletic ability and gender homophily are relevant factors, while language and similarity in athletic ability are not. Contrary to the results for organized sports, intellectual disability and speaking a foreign language at home are negative factors in friendship networks at school. Athletic ability is important in both settings. Regarding dyadic factors, gender homophily is important in both settings, but similarity in athletic ability is not. To foster the psychosocial health of children with intellectual disabilities, they should be encouraged to participate in integrative organized sports as, there, they are part of friendship networks in a manner equal to their peers without an intellectual disability.

Experiences of stakeholder collaboration when promoting participation in physical activity among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

PURPOSE

Various stakeholders contribute to the development of healthy physical activity habits in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parents and stakeholders seek collaborative actions but little is still known about such efforts. The purpose of this study was thus to explore how professionals from different services experience stakeholder collaboration when promoting participation in physical activity for these adolescents.

METHOD

Five focus group discussions were held with 17 professionals from education, health care, community, and sports organizations, engaged in the promotion of physical activity in adolescents with ASD. The data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

The discussions revolved around a central theme: Collaboration is needed to promote physical literacy among adolescents with ASD. The professionals though experienced that this collaboration was hampered by the low priority given to physical activity issues within different organizations, by limited resources, lack of knowledge, and unclear roles.

CONCLUSIONS

Notwithstanding the professionals' different roles, all agreed that physical activity issues need to be prioritized and that each stakeholder needs to acknowledge the shared responsibility of collaboration. However, more clear routines for collaboration that include joined efforts but also highlight the organization-specific responsibilities might enhance the collaborative efforts.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONIn-depth understanding of both the adolescents' needs and the environments in which physical activity is promoted is required if participation in physical activity among adolescents with ASD is to be enhanced.Families and professionals within different organizations need to be supported to collaborate when mapping and meeting the adolescents' physical activity needs.Issues regarding developing physical activity habits need to be prioritized.Professionals, such as education, health, and community professionals who are important for the promotion of healthy physical activity habits need to be included in multi-stakeholder meetings.

Exploring Environmental and Entrepreneurial Antecedents of Social Performance in Spanish Sports Clubs: A Symmetric and Asymmetric Approach

The social function of non-profit sports clubs is undeniable, so analyzing the factors that influence their performance is vital. The aim of this study is to understand the influence of entrepreneurial factors (entrepreneurial orientation) and environmental factors (dynamism, hostility and complexity) on social performance using a symmetrical (Hierarchical regression model) and asymmetrical (qualitative comparative analysis) approach. The social performance of this particular type of organization is of great importance in an environment where sustainability from a social point of view is increasingly on the agenda of governments, organizations and society in general. A total of 209 Spanish non-profit sports clubs were analyzed. The use of two complementary methodologies has made it possible to highlight the direct positive influence of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on performance in terms of social impact performance (SIP) and social causes performance (SCP). Similarly, complexity and dynamism have a direct influence on both types of performance, while high levels of hostility in the environment are related to low levels of social performance in both areas. The analysis of the interaction of environmental factors and sport entrepreneurship on social performance in sports clubs has not been previously addressed. Therefore, this study provides new information to elaborate on practical management implications for directors and managers of non-profit sport clubs.

Physical activity correlates across the lifespan in people with epilepsy: a systematic review

PURPOSE

Understanding barriers and facilitators of physical activity (PA) participation in people with epilepsy is an essential first step to enable development of targeted and effective interventions. This systematic review examined that PA correlates in people with epilepsy across the lifespan.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Major electronic databases were searched from inception until 1 April 2019. Keywords included "physical activity" or "exercise" and "epilepsy".

RESULTS

Out of 31 correlates from 10 studies (n = 495, 5-72 years) no consistent (i.e., reported in four or more studies) correlates were identified. In children and adolescents, membership of a sports club was a facilitator for being physically active (confirmed in one study: 1/1), while lower maternal educational level was a barrier (1/1). In adults, the most reported barrier was the presence of depression (3/3), followed by trait anxiety (2/3), state anxiety (1/1), side effects of medication (1/1), and perceived stigma (1/1). No studies focusing on middle-aged and old age people with epilepsy were available.

CONCLUSIONS

The current review found that quantitative research about PA barriers and facilitators in people with epilepsy is still in its infancy, but PA participation is associated with a range of biological, social, and psychological factors which should be considered in rehabilitation programs.Implications for rehabilitationMany people living with epilepsy do not engage in physical activity on a regular basis.Children with epilepsy who are member of a sports club are more physically active.Depression, anxiety, and perceived stigma are important barriers for being active in adults with epilepsy.Side-effects of antiepilepstic drugs are a barrier for being active in adults with epilepsy.

Health Promotion Interventions in Sports Clubs: Can We Talk About a Setting-Based Approach? A Systematic Mapping Review

Many researchers and authorities have recognized the important role that sports clubs can play in public health. In spite of attempts to create a theoretical framework in the early 2000s, a thorough understanding of sports clubs as a setting for health promotion (HP) is lacking. Despite calls for more effective, sustainable, and theoretically grounded interventions, previous literature reviews have identified no controlled studies assessing HP interventions in sports clubs. This systematic mapping review details how the settings-based approach is applied through HP interventions in sports clubs and highlights facilitators and barriers for sports clubs to become health-promoting settings. In addition, the mapped facilitators and barriers have been used to reformulate previous guidelines of HP in sports clubs. Seven databases were searched for empirical research published between 1986 and 2017. Fifty-eight studies were included, principally coming from Australia and Europe, describing 33 unique interventions, which targeted mostly male participants in team sports. The settings-based approach was not yet applied in sports clubs, as more than half of the interventions implemented in sports club targeted only one level of the socio-ecological model, as well as focused only on study participants rather than the club overall. Based on empirical data, the analysis of facilitators and barriers helped develop revised guidelines for sports clubs to implement settings-based HP. This will be particularly useful when implementing HP initiatives to aid in the development of sports clubs working with a whole setting approach.

Does sports club participation contribute to physical activity among children and adolescents? A comparison across six European countries

Aims: Insufficient physical activity (PA) is one of the largest public health challenges of our time and requires a multisectoral public-health response. PA recommendations state that all children and adolescents should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) daily and carry out vigorous PA (VPA) three times weekly. While participation in sports club activities is known to enhance the probability of reaching the recommended overall PA level, less is known about the contribution of sports club participation to VPA, and few cross-national comparisons have been carried out. The purpose of this paper is to study whether participation in sports club activities is associated with meeting the overall PA and VPA recommendations among children and adolescents across six European countries, namely Belgium (Flanders), Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ireland and Sweden. Methods: Analyses were carried out on existing self-reported national data sets using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results: Results indicate that approximately two-thirds of children and adolescents take part in sports club activities in the given countries. Sports club participants were more likely to meet the overall PA recommendations (OR 2.4-6.4) and VPA recommendation (OR 2.8-5.0) than non-participants. Conclusions: The extent to which overall PA and/or VPA is gained through sports club participation versus other settings needs to be further studied. Nonetheless, it can be argued that sports clubs have an important position in PA promotion for younger populations.

Organized Sport Participation and Physical Activity Levels among Adolescents with Functional Limitations

Sufficient and regular physical activity is considered a protective factor, reducing the onset of secondary disability conditions in adolescents with chronic diseases and functional limitations. The aim of this study was to explore whether participation in organized sport may be associated to higher levels of physical activity in adolescents with functional limitations, based on a national representative sample. Data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study collected in Finland from two data collection rounds (2002 and 2010) were conducted and pooled from adolescents aged between 13 and 15 years old with functional limitations (n = 1041). Differences in self-reported physical activity over the past week and participation in organized sport activity were analysed for each function. Overall, four in ten (n = 413) participated in organized sport and were significantly (p < 0.001) more physically active (mean = 4.92days, SD = 1.81) than their non-participating (mean = 3.29, SD = 1.86) peers with functional limitations. Despite low population prevalence, adolescents with epilepsy or visual impairments were the least active if they were not participating in organized sport, yet were the most active if they were involved in organized sport. Participating in organized sport appears to be an important factor promoting resources for maintaining recommended levels of physical activity in Finnish adolescents with functional limitations.