This analysis examines the gap between recommended care (i.e., referrals) and accessed community-based care among Special Olympics athletes.
This analysis describes referral and Special Olympics Program-reported follow-up care data from Healthy Athletes programming spanning from 2020 – 2024. This data includes de-identified screening results of Special Olympics athletes, ages 8 and older, for whom consent was provided to participate in Healthy Athletes screenings and for screening results to be stored in a health database. Additional post-event data was gathered through annual reporting by local Special Olympics Programs (i.e., state, country level).
Globally from 2020 – 2024, 3,193 referrals for follow-up care resulted from 26,507 FUNfitness (physiotherapy) screenings performed. Of these referrals, 64.6% (n=2,062) resulted in athletes confirmed to have an identified provider/place to go for follow-up care, but only 33.9% of referrals (n=1,082) resulted in the confirmed receipt of recommended follow-up care.
The findings suggest the presence of considerable barriers for people with IDD to access appropriate physiotherapy care, which may include physical and communication barriers, lack of available providers, and limited healthcare coverage or ability to pay, among other barriers. Additional research is needed to specifically identify and better understand what barriers people with IDD experience when attempting to access community-based physiotherapy services.
Understanding these gaps illuminates the lack of access to physiotherapy care that people with IDD experience, which could result in a cascade of health disparities including decreased quality of life and/or increased risk for injury. Therefore, continuing to investigate these gaps in access, and the barriers that contribute to them, should be a focus of global physiotherapy practice, education, and related policy making.
Inclusive Health
Healthcare Access
