Paralympic Athlete Perspectives On Athlete Resources And Recommendations For Future Improvements

Access to para sport opportunities is essential for health promotion in individuals with disabilities. The Paralympic Games is one of the most visible versions of para sport and working to improve accessibility, enhance performance, and promote equity in research specific to para sport is necessary. PURPOSE: To evaluate Paralympic athletes’ experiences and gain recommendations for enhancing the performance environment and resources available in para sport. METHODS: Using phenomenological study design, we employed semi-structured interviews to investigate the experiences of Paralympic athletes. Participants, purposively sampled via a screening questionnaire, discussed their experiences with resources and provided recommendations for improvements to resource allocation for para athletes. Data were analyzed using a Consensual Qualitative Research tradition, focused on ensuring rigor through multi-person analysis and triangulation. RESULTS: 19 Paralympic athletes (females, n = 11; males, n = 8; age, 31 ± 9 y) representing a range of International Paralympic Committee disability categories (muscle and movement, bone-related conditions, visual impairments, central nervous system disorders) and 11 different sports participated. The resulting codebook included themes titled, “Resources for Paralympic Athletes” and “Recommendations for Improvements.” The Resources theme included five categories: 1) community-level, 2) university-level, 3) United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, 4) national governing body, and 5) resources access, awareness, and satisfaction. The Recommendations theme also had five categories: 1) sports medicine, 2) sports performance, 3) disability-specific needs and classification systems, 4) resources, and 5) community awareness. CONCLUSIONS: Participants expressed satisfaction with the resources provided to them; however, they explicitly discussed the need to seek out their own resources due to a lack of access and/or convenience. Participants also highlighted the need for improved research efforts related to sports medicine and performance targeting disability-specific needs, more homogenous classification systems, easily accessible resources, and improved community awareness emphasizing the importance of para sport for future generations.