Last month I wrote about the lack of visibility of people with disabilities using local parks, more from a personal perspective than a research perspective. This month I would like to follow up with a research study that was recently published in the American Journal of Health Promotion by Dr. Bradley Cardinal and Marc Spaziani.

The investigators conducted an interesting study in western Oregon that involved the examination of 50 physical activity facilities in this region. Accessibility was evaluated by the percentage compliance of each facility in 10 structural domains: customer service desk; accessibility to and around exercise equipment; drinking fountains; telephones; restrooms/locker rooms; elevators; path of travel; exterior entrances/doors; ramps; and parking. The investigator (Mr. Spaziani) traveled to each facility and made physical measurements in these 10 categories. The results of the study found that the highest rates of compliance were in the domains of exterior entrance/doors (90%) and telephone accessibility (88%). The lowest compliance rates were accessibility to and around exercise equipment (8%); customer service desk (37%); and restrooms/locker rooms (44%). The investigators concluded that the lack of structural accessibility of the evaluated facilities may impose a significant barrier to participation among people with disabilities.

Given that one of the lowest areas of accessibility was "access to and around exercise equipment," it is difficult to imagine why anyone who uses a wheelchair would want to join a local fitness facility. Why spend money on a health club membership that only allows the person access to a few pieces, if any, of exercise equipment while the rest of the members have access to all the equipment?

Read the remainder of this column at http://www.ncpad.org/198/1377/2003-02~Issue~~New~Study~Finds~Low~Accessibility~of~
Physical~Activity~Facilities