Therapeutic bodily assistive devices and paralympic athlete expectations in winter sport.
OBJECTIVE
To ascertain the impact of therapeutic bodily assistive devices that enable beyond-the-normal body abilities on sport in general and the Paralympics and Olympics in particular.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
Online.


METHODS
Members of the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (United States). Distribution of online survey link to membership.


METHODS
The survey used a combination of 37 simple yes or no, Likert scale, and opinion rating scale questions. This article is based on 4 of the 37 questions that focus on the impact of therapeutic enhancements on various aspects of sport.


METHODS
Whether respondents felt that there is an impact of therapeutic bodily assistive devices that enable beyond-the-normal body abilities on the participation of people with disabilities in sport of all levels and the self-identity of athletes with disabilities. Secondary outcome measure was what the respondents felt the impact may be.


RESULTS
The respondents indicated that therapeutic bodily assistive devices, which enable beyond-the-normal body abilities, will have an impact on participation of people with disabilities in sport at all levels and on the self-identity of athletes with disabilities.


CONCLUSIONS
Given the result that the respondents felt that therapeutic enhancements will impact various aspects of sport, it may be prudent to initiate a broader discourse around therapeutic enhancement and to revise codes of ethics so that they give guidance on this topic.
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. gwolbrin@ucalgary.ca
Gregor
G
Wolbring
D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000941:ethics / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D013177:Sports / Q000941:ethics / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*