An exploratory Kano survey of community sports service demands among participating older adults in six selected Wuhan communities

Background Community sports facilities and related services may shape opportunities for physical activity, but an overall satisfaction score can obscure asymmetric responses to service provision and non-provision. This study described service demands among older adults participating in community sports in six selected Wuhan communities. Methods An exploratory cross-sectional survey with non-probability recruitment yielded 1,065 valid questionnaires, of which 825 current community-sports participants were included in the Kano analysis. Twenty-eight services across six domains were classified by the largest A/O/M/I frequency. Better (SI), Worse (DSI), and their descriptive asymmetry contrast were recalculated from item counts. Sample-specific mean coefficients defined the quadrant reference lines. A deterministic response-recoding analysis examined the sensitivity of dominant categories. Results Eight services were must-be, eight one-dimensional, seven attractive, and five indifferent. Maintenance had the largest |DSI| (0.788), and professional guidance the largest SI (0.700). The contrast SI − |DSI| was negative for maintenance (−0.326) and safety (−0.279), but positive for free facilities (0.290) and age-friendly modification (0.260). For intercommunity exchange, reallocating four of 807 nonreverse responses from the leading category to the second category removed its unique dominant label. Conclusion The Wuhan demand profile differentiates reliable baseline operation from possible service additions within the same domain and distinguishes valued functions from specific delivery formats. These patterns inform provisional local service appraisal and prospective delivery testing, with flexibility for category-sensitive items. Accessibility, safety, equity, and feasibility remain necessary planning considerations. The findings describe stated demands among selected current participants. They establish neither actual provision deficits nor intervention or population-level effects.