DISABILITY INCLUSION IN SPORT AND EXERCISE - EXPLORING GYM STAFF EXPERIENCES

S. Cosgrave^1,1, B. Leacy¹, I. Markiewicz¹, A. Monaghan¹, T. Sands¹, O. Fennelly¹, C. Cunningham¹

Background: Gym staff are important stakeholders in the provision of exercise opportunities for people with disability, with their work helping to facilitate inclusion and access to the benefits of exercise. An understanding of their experience and perceptions of working with people with disability remains largely under researched and would inform future service provision.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the experiences and perceptions of gym staff working with people with disability in a gym setting.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews (n=11) were conducted with staff across four publicly funded gyms in Dublin. Recruitment was by way of an invitation email to all leisure facility staff. Semi structured interviews were conducted by an experienced research physiotherapist with the interview schedule informed by disability inclusion literature. Interview data were transcribed and analysed using NViVo software and based on the thematic analysis approach of Braun and Clarke [1]. Using an inductive approach, the main themes and subthemes were identified after coding and these were then mapped to the socioecological model (SEM) for determinants of healthy behaviours.
[1] Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. 2006; 3:77-101

Results: Overall, gym staff experiences of working with people with disability were positive with staff valuing the organisational ethos of having an atmosphere of social inclusion where “people with disability are exercising alongside mainstream people in the gym”. However, some challenging interpersonal factors included concerns about using “the right language”, a “fear of offending” and also “having a lack of experience”. Shared exercise goal setting between gym instructors and people with disability was regarded as being important.
Having communication between gym staff and healthcare professionals was viewed as “hugely successful” in some scenarios and should be developed further. Interviewees noted that environmental factors could greatly influence the inclusion of people with disabilities in sport and noting that in some instances, people with disability were “not consulted in the build stage”. Staff expressed a need to generate greater awareness of services and facilities they provided for people with disability, valued their prior disability inclusion training and expressed an interest in further training.

Conclusion(s): Overall, interviews revealed a positive attitude to promoting disability inclusion in sport and exercise among gym staff, reflecting the organisation’s stated ethos of inclusion. Areas for further enhancement include more disability inclusion training (incorporating communication issues and adapting physical activity), communication with healthcare professionals, marketing of exercise services to people with disability, and ensuring that the built environment meets client needs.

Implications: Results from this paper will inform the further enhancement of sports and exercise services for people with disability. Barriers and facilitators highlighted should be considered in future exercise service provision for people with disability by gym management and staff, healthcare professionals and all those involved in services for people with disability.

Funding, acknowledgements: No funding was required for this study. 

Keywords: Disability, Physical Activity, Gym Staff

Topic: Disability & rehabilitation

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin

Committee: Human Research Ethics Committee-School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science

Ethics number: UP-19-01-Cosgrave-Leacy-Markiewicz-Monaghan-Sands-Cunningham