title: How does playing adapted sports affect quality of life of people with mobility limitations? Results from a mixed-method sequential explanatory study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Occupations, including physical activity, are a strong determinant of health. However, mobility limitations can restrict opportunities to perform these occupations, which may affect quality of life. Some people will turn to adapted sports to meet their need to be involved in occupations. Little is known, however, about how participation in adapted sports affects the quality of life of people with mobility limitations. This study thus aimed to explore the influence of adapted sports on quality of life in adult wheelchair users.
  
  
  METHODS
  A mixed-method sequential explanatory design was used, including a quantitative and a qualitative component with a clinical research design. A total of 34 wheelchair users aged 18 to 62, who regularly played adapted sports, completed the Quality of Life Index (/30). Their scores were compared to those obtained by people of similar age without limitations (general population). Ten of the wheelchair users also participated in individual semi-structured interviews exploring their perceptions regarding how sports-related experiences affected their quality of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants were 9 women and 25 men with paraplegia, the majority of whom worked and played an individual adapted sport (athletics, tennis or rugby) at the international or national level. People with mobility limitations who participated in adapted sports had a quality of life comparable to the group without limitations (21.9 ± 3.3 vs 22.3 ± 2.9 respectively), except for poorer family-related quality of life (21.0 ± 5.3 vs 24.1 ± 4.9 respectively). Based on the interviews, participants reported that the positive effect of adapted sports on the quality of life of people with mobility limitations operates mainly through the following: personal factors (behavior-related abilities and health), social participation (in general and through interpersonal relationships), and environmental factors (society's perceptions and support from the environment). Some contextual factors, such as resources and the accessibility of organizations and training facilities, are important and contributed indirectly to quality of life. Negative aspects, such as performance-related stress and injury, also have an effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People with mobility limitations playing adapted sports and people without limitations have a similar quality of life. Participation in adapted sports was identified as having positive effects on self-esteem, self-efficacy, sense of belonging, participation in meaningful activities, society's attitude towards people with mobility limitations, and physical well-being. However, participants stated that this involvement, especially at higher levels, had a negative impact on their social life.
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Côté-Leclerc
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Gabrielle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boileau Duchesne
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bolduc
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Amélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gélinas-Lafrenière
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Santerre
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.|Research Center on Aging, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Estrie, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Johanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Desrosiers
authors.affiliation: School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada. Melanie.Levasseur@USherbrooke.ca.|Research Center on Aging, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Estrie, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada. Melanie.Levasseur@USherbrooke.ca.
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levasseur
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000523:psychology; D001290:Attitude; D004777:Environment; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D058992:Social Participation; D012944:Social Support; D064846:Sports for Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D014910:Wheelchairs / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Life satisfaction; Parasports; Quality of Life Index; Sense of belonging; Well-being; Wheelchair users