PARTICIPATION IN AND ADHERENCE TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITY

It is a challenge for physiotherapists and fitness instructors to promote adherence to regular physical activity/exercise in people with physical disabilities. Although there has been emerging awareness of this in recent years, this topic remains relatively underexplored. The literature has shown that multiple factors affect the initiation and maintenance of participation in regular physical activity in this population, and relevant behavioural strategies are useful in this regard. The main theme of the present review is to provide frontline exercise professionals a wide picture for understanding participation in and adherence to physical activity for people with physical disabilities. The objectives are as follows: (1) to explore the need for regular physical activity/exercise for people with physical disability; (2) to sum up the correlates between people with disabilities and physical activity participation, as well as physical activity adherence; (3) to review strategies for increasing physical activity participation and adherence in people with disabilities; and (4) to point out the practical difficulties and implications from the reviewed papers concerning the improvement of physical activity/exercise participation and adherence.