Background: Exercise is necessary for overall health and well-being for all individuals. For people with disabilities, fitness and recreational sports centers are reported to be generally inaccessible and not user friendly.
Objective: This review study aimed to identify instruments that assess access to fitness and recreational sports centers and to appraise the identified instruments' qualitative and quantitative attributes.
Methods: We systematically searched databases (AMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science for the years spanning 1950 to April 2012) and web-based search engines (Google and Google Scholar) to identify instruments, published in English that objectively assess the accessibility of fitness and recreational sports centers. Identified instruments were critically appraised using the qualitative attributes QAPAQ Checklist Part I and the COSMIN checklist for measurement properties.
Results: Seven instruments were included in this review: ADA Accessibility Guidelines Checklist for Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG); ADA Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal; Accessibility Instruments Measuring Fitness and Recreation Environments (AIMFREE); Community Health Environment Checklist - Mobility (CHEC-M); Removing Barriers to Health Clubs and Fitness Facilities (RBHCFF); Health Empowerment Zone Environmental Tool Shortened Environmental Checklist: Fitness Centre Survey (HEZEAT-FCS); Community Health Environment Checklist - Exercise Facilities (CHEC-Fit). Only the AIMFREE and CHEC-M have aspects of measurement properties evaluated.
Conclusion: We recommend that instrument developers consider conducting full psychometric assessment of their instruments using adequate sample sizes. We also recommend they consider scoring methods and respondent burden to provide scientifically robust instruments that are easy to administer.
Keywords: Architectural accessibility; Disabled persons; Environment design; Fitness centers.
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