Background People with disabilities face barriers to in-person physical activity (PA), including a lack of adaptive equipment and knowledgeable instructors. Given this and the increased need for digital resources due to widespread COVID-19 lockdowns, it is necessary to assess the accessibility of digital fitness resources for people with disabilities. To investigate whether YouTube fitness content creators have made videos accessible to people with disabilities would be informative about access to PA during COVID-19 and could also provide insight into the feasibility of individuals who are disabled relying on YouTube for PA in a post–COVID-19 world. Objective This study aims to ascertain if disability-friendly PA videos on YouTube are accessible through searching general fitness terms and whether a change in the availability of accessible fitness resources for people with disabilities occurred on YouTube between before and during the COVID-19 pandemic on “Hospital/Medical Institutions,” “Individual(s),” and “Other(s)” channels. Secondary aims are to investigate if different categories of YouTube channels produce more accessible fitness content and highlight any disparities in disability-friendly PA content on YouTube. Methods A cross-sectional text analysis of exercise-related YouTube videos was conducted. The authors used Python (version 3.0) to access the YouTube database via its data application programming interface. Terms pertaining to PA that were searched on YouTube were at-home exercise, exercise at home, exercise no equipment, home exercise, home-based exercise, no equipment workout, and workout no equipment. Various elements (eg, view count and content generation) of the videos published between January 1 and June 30, 2019 (n=700), were compared to the elements of videos published between January 1 and June 30, 2020 (n=700). To capture a broad idea of disability-friendly videos on YouTube, videos were labeled “accessible” if they were found in the first 100 video results and if their title, description, or tags contained the following terms: para, paralympic, adaptive, adapted, disabled, disability, differently abled, disability-friendly, wheelchair accessible, and inclusive. Each video and channel were categorized as “Hospitals/Medical Institutions,” “Individuals,” or “Other(s).” Results The analysis revealed a statistically significant increase in viewership of fitness content on YouTube (P=.001) and in fitness content generated by Hospitals/Medical Institutions (P=.004). Accessible terms applicable to people with disabilities had minimal appearances in 2019 (21 videos) and 2020 (19 videos). None of the top viewed fitness videos that populated on YouTube from 2019 or 2020 were accessible. Conclusions The proportion of accessible disability-friendly videos remains diminutive relative to the prevalence of disability in the general population, revealing that disability-friendly videos are seldom findable on YouTube. Thus, the need for disability-friendly fitness content to be easily searched and found remains urgent if access to digital fitness resources is to improve.
Purpose: Stationary training rollers enable wheelchair users to maintain physical health and train as athletes, which serves to treat and prevent immobility-associated chronic disease and improve cardiorespiratory fitness required for sports performance. However, conventional exercise equipment is largely inaccessible for persons with disabilities in low-resource areas, primarily due to cost. The aim of this study was to prototype, develop, and test a portable, cost-efficient stationary training device for wheelchair users in low-resource settings-The EasyRoller. Materials and methods: Stakeholder input from wheelchair athletes, trainers, and potential commercial manufacturers was solicited and utilized to conceptualize The EasyRoller design. The device was constructed from easily sourced, low cost components, following which it was user-tested with Para athletes. Feedback was analysed and incorporated into newer versions of the prototype. Results and conclusions: The EasyRoller creatively combines easily-sourced components to significantly cut down cost and ease both manufacture and repair for use in low-resource settings. The device is portable with a total weight of 34 pounds and total size of 42 linear inches while also affordable with a total cost of USD$199. Hereby, The EasyRoller has the potential to increase physical activity participation in populations with impairment who live in socioeconomically deprived world regions. ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Exercise and physical activity are key aspects of health and quality of life for persons with disabilities Stationary training rollers, devices that enable wheelchair users to train, are often bulky and expensive and therefore inaccessible for populations in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings The EasyRoller is a portable and affordable training device that increases access to exercise and physical activity for these populations ARTICLE HISTORY
BACKGROUND Disease and mortality attributable to sedentariness disproportionately affects people with disabilities (PWD). It is unclear if this gap also exists online, and if the COVID-19 pandemic has affected it. OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the amount of fitness content accessible to disabled persons, a cross-sectional text analysis of exercise-related keywords was searched on YouTube. METHODS Videos published between 01/01/2019 and 06/30/2019 (n=700) were compared to videos published between 01/01/2020 and 06/30/2020 (n=700). RESULTS The analysis reveals that terms applicable to PWD (‘Para,’ ‘Paralympic,’ ‘Adaptive,’ ‘Adapted,’ ‘Disabled,’ ‘Disability,’ ‘Differently-abled,’ ’Disability-friendly,’ ‘Wheelchair-accessible,’ and ‘Inclusive’) had minimal appearances in the 2019 and 2020 videos. Additionally, approximately 25% of videos in each year did not contain subtitles. Removing video duplicates that existed in two or more searches resulted in 1038 unique videos (508 in 2019, 530 in 2020). Video viewership significantly increased in 2020 with median view counts of 52,288 (IQR: 2,891-401,879) and 122,837 (IQR: 7,257-728,854) for 2019 and 2020, respectively (P = 0.0012). CONCLUSIONS While many YouTube exercise videos were published during the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of accessible videos remains diminutive. The need for disability-friendly fitness content remains urgent if health disparities associated with sedentariness are to improve.
BACKGROUND People with disabilities face barriers to in-person physical activity (PA), including a lack of adaptive equipment and knowledgeable instructors. Given this and the increased need for digital resources due to widespread COVID-19 lockdowns, it is necessary to assess the accessibility of digital fitness resources for people with disabilities. To investigate whether YouTube fitness content creators have made videos accessible to people with disabilities would be informative about access to PA during COVID-19 and could also provide insight into the feasibility of individuals who are disabled relying on YouTube for PA in a post–COVID-19 world. OBJECTIVE This study aims to ascertain if disability-friendly PA videos on YouTube are accessible through searching general fitness terms and whether a change in the availability of accessible fitness resources for people with disabilities occurred on YouTube between before and during the COVID-19 pandemic on “Hospital/Medical Institutions,” “Individual(s),” and “Other(s)” channels. Secondary aims are to investigate if different categories of YouTube channels produce more accessible fitness content and highlight any disparities in disability-friendly PA content on YouTube. METHODS A cross-sectional text analysis of exercise-related YouTube videos was conducted. The authors used Python (version 3.0) to access the YouTube database via its data application programming interface. Terms pertaining to PA that were searched on YouTube were <i>at-home exercise</i>, <i>exercise at home</i>, <i>exercise no equipment</i>, <i>home exercise</i>, <i>home-based exercise</i>, <i>no equipment workout</i>, and <i>workout no equipment</i>. Various elements (eg, view count and content generation) of the videos published between January 1 and June 30, 2019 (n=700), were compared to the elements of videos published between January 1 and June 30, 2020 (n=700). To capture a broad idea of disability-friendly videos on YouTube, videos were labeled “accessible” if they were found in the first 100 video results and if their title, description, or tags contained the following terms: <i>para</i>, <i>paralympic</i>, <i>adaptive</i>, <i>adapted</i>, <i>disabled</i>, <i>disability</i>, <i>differently abled</i>, <i>disability-friendly</i>, <i>wheelchair accessible,</i> and <i>inclusive</i>. Each video and channel were categorized as “Hospitals/Medical Institutions,” “Individuals,” or “Other(s).” RESULTS The analysis revealed a statistically significant increase in viewership of fitness content on YouTube (<i>P</i>=.001) and in fitness content generated by Hospitals/Medical Institutions (<i>P</i>=.004). Accessible terms applicable to people with disabilities had minimal appearances in 2019 (21 videos) and 2020 (19 videos). None of the top viewed fitness videos that populated on YouTube from 2019 or 2020 were accessible. CONCLUSIONS The proportion of accessible disability-friendly videos remains diminutive relative to the prevalence of disability in the general population, revealing that disability-friendly videos are seldom findable on YouTube. Thus, the need for disability-friendly fitness content to be easily searched and found remains urgent if access to digital fitness resources is to improve.
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