Accessible Health Programs Promoting Physical Activity and Fitness Level

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Background

Physical activity is one of the most undervalued interventions to improve public health. Promoting physical activity and fitness level among various individuals has become a meaningful and non-negligible topic in the public health area. Notably, the availability of accessible facilities and services has been identified as a critical factor influencing physical activity levels among various populations, which is especially important for older adults, people with impairments, and people with low socioeconomic status. Based on Disabilities Acts from different countries, health care providers are responsible to provide individuals with disabilities full and equal access to their health care services and facilities with no discrimination. However, people with disabilities or other groups of special population always have to overcome several barriers (e.g., lack of specialty care, more health risk factors, lack of preventative care, negative attitudes from others, financial barriers, etc.), which make it harder for them to access critical healthcare services or to build optimal working relationships with their clinicians.

Being aware of these barriers, it is necessary to overcome them with changes in design, training, and policy. Approaches demonstrating how barriers in the physical environment can be removed and how exercise equipment and programs should be designed to create a welcoming facility are needed to be investigated. More importantly, hospitals, clinics, and health-care services are responsible to provide equal and adaptable aids to meet different individuals’ needs. Focusing on elements that are more practical to change within in a program or intervention is of particular importance. Environment plays an important role in mediating between participation of various activities (including physical activities) and complexity of an individual condition (disability, health condition, functional issues), which highlights the needs of redirecting clinician and researcher’s attentions to remove environmental barriers and develop interventions that target the supportive environment. As health service providers, effective interventions and strategies to increase the adherence of the health programs are also needed to be considered. Therefore, it is of great importance to find the best way to promote people’s physical activity level through the development accessible and inclusive health programs.

In this Research Topic, we aim to investigate the potential health programs that could effectively promote physical activity and fitness level among individuals with various characteristics, which could provide evidence for future clinical practice and policy/regulation, by removing potential barriers to build a more inclusive and accessible service environment. Review articles and original research including cross-sectional studies, experimental studies, and clinical trials are encouraged. Studies that involve mere behavior outcomes are also welcomed. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Telecommunicated health program for individualized needs
• Community health care service targeting potential barriers and inclusive environment
• Rehabilitation projects aiming at promoting physical activity as primary outcomes
• Comparison studies that estimate the effectiveness of relevant interventions or strategies
• Observational studies investigating the relationships between potential contributing factors and physical activity/fitness level
• Reviews of disability-inclusive health service/program resources or toolkits in either developed or developing countries
• Studies on the importance of individual differences in physical activity and fitness level (e.g., disabled, children, older adults, patients, pregnant women, etc.)

Keywords: Physical Activity, Fitness Level, Health Program, Promotion, Accessibility

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