Health-Promoting Activities for Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities: Impact of Participation

PURPOSE: Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at increased risk for health concerns such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and mental health challenges. Significant disparities exist in access to health care services to prevent and treat these types of health concerns. Health-promoting activities have been shown to reduce the risk of a number of health concerns in the general population, but limited information is known about what types of health-promoting activities adults with ID participate in or what the benefits may be. A deeper understanding of health promotion in adults with ID may lead to an increase in availability of health-promoting activities for adults with ID and a reduction in health disparities. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe how participation in Special Olympics (SO) and other health-promoting activities affected adults with ID.

METHOD: A phenomenological approach using interviews was implemented. Participants, recruited through SO, were athletes aged >18 yr (n = 25) and their primary caregivers (n = 15) from Wisconsin. Individual and group interviews were conducted with both groups to discuss the outcomes of athletes’ engagement in a variety of activities. A thematic analysis was completed of transcribed interviews. The analysis included an iterative process of identifying, defining, and coding themes until all themes were agreed on and finalized by research team members. A content count was used to identify the types of activities reported.

RESULTS: Athletes and their caregivers reported that they participated in a wide range of structured and unstructured activities. Many of the activities were either directly related to SO or the athletes or caregiver became aware of the activity through a social network that was supported by SO. Activity types ranged from traditional health-promoting activities such as basketball to nontraditional, informal activities such as family forums with guest speakers on body awareness and safety or walking to rent a movie. Six themes were identified that described the role of the wide range of health-promoting activities for athletes with ID: (1) Body/Health Awareness, (2) Increased Access to Social Networks, (3) Institutional Access, (4) Improved Health Outcomes, (5) Personal Skill Acquisition or Achievement, and (6) Personal Agency.

CONCLUSION: SO and other related activities were reported to contribute not only to physical goals of the athletes but also to their social, emotional, and personal well-being. Participants highlighted the importance of socialization through SO activities, suggesting that health-promoting programs for adults with ID should consider intentionally including social opportunities. SO activities were a focal point for the athletes’ personal sense of motivation, encouraging them to set and pursue goals in a systematic and disciplined way. Many achieved new skills and accomplishments partly as a result of this internalized motivation. Certain activities were found to be a hub through which participants were able to expand their knowledge of and access to other health-related services and institutions.

IMPACT STATEMENT: SO and related activities can serve as a preventive and supportive model for individuals with ID and their caregivers to address a wide range of physical and emotional health needs. Although the primary focus of SO has historically been competitive sport, by collaborating with occupational therapy practitioners, the potential exists to integrate a wider range of activities and practices to support overall physical and mental well-being.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Physical activity and health: The benefits of physical activity. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm

Haverman, M., Heller, T., Lee, L., Maaskant, M., Shooshtari, S., & Strydom, A. (2010). Major health risks in aging persons with intellectual disabilities: An overview of recent studies. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 7, 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-1130.2010.00248.x

Krahn, G. L., & Fox, M. H. (2014). Health disparities of adults with intellectual disabilities: What do we know? What do we do? Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27, 431–436. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12067

van Schijndel-Speet, M., Evenhuis, H. M., van Wijck, R., van Empelen, P., & Echteld, M. A. (2014). Facilitators and barriers to physical activity as perceived by older adults with intellectual disability. Mental Retardation, 52, 175–186. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-52.3.175