Primary and secondary barriers to physically active healthy lifestyles for adults with learning disabilities

Abstract

These are barriers that are widely acknowledged and understood by day and residential staff and participants in the study, but are arguably poorly understood by policy makers, health promotion agencies, commissioners and providers of learning disability services. The current lack of resources and inadequately specified responsibilities associated with community care deny many people with learning disabilities real choices to live a physically active healthy lifestyle.

Health‐promoting physical activity of adults with mental retardation

“…Despite lack of support for physical activity from certain support systems, people with MR are highly motivated to engage in activity as a social outlet, similar to the nondisabled [Frey et al, 2005]. Within the physical environment, transportation and the location of day program centers in relation to open space and community facilities may hinder participation in physical activity [Neumayer and Bleasdale, 1996;Messent et al, 1999]. Participants with MR and job supervisors in the Frey et al [2005] study concurred that transportation was a primary factor in the ability to access activity opportunities.…”

“…Problems with acquiescence and comprehension in self-report research with this population have been well-documented [Bogdan and Taylor, 1994;Finlay and Lyons, 2001]. Proxy respondents (e.g., caregivers) are typically used as self-report resources to assess physical activity in this group [Messent et al, 1998b[Messent et al, , 1999Robertson et al, 2000Draheim et al, 2002a,, 2002b], but there are some concerns regarding the reliability of this approach because secondary sources may not accurately report primary source behavior [Finlay and Lyons, 2001]. This is particularly true for individuals with MR who reside in less controlled settings (e.g., supported living versus institution).…”

“…This is a concern because reliance on this type of external reinforcement may not be conducive to activity maintenance. Messent et al [1999] conducted structured in-depth interviews with 24 individuals with MR and 12 caregivers. Questions focused on daily activities that occurred in the 7 days previous to data collection, activities they enjoyed, beliefs and attitudes, and experiences during a 10-week exercise program.…”

“…Lack of staff motivation to promote physical activity [Temple and Walkley, 2003a], a lack of physical activity counseling [Frey et al, 2005], and high client-to-staff ratios [Messent et al, 1999] have all been reported as constraints to participation. This is supported by Lennox [2002], who asserts people with MR "are often living in environments where healthy choices, by them or their carers, are difficult (if not impossible).…”

“…Too often staff numbers and/or resources may be inadequate to allow regular exercise" (p. 237). Care providers and supervisors report that inadequate physical activity policies and guidelines for residential and day service providers contribute to these difficulties [Messent et al, 1999].…”