Author(s): TRIPLETT, A., POST, E., ADAMS, W., ANDERSON, T., BLAUWET, C., ECKENROD, M., GOOSEY-TOLFREY, V., TOW, S., VINCENT, H., DONALDSON, A., FINNOFF, J., KOSSMAN, M., Institution: UNITED STATES OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, Country: UNITED STATES, Abstract-ID: 2652

INTRODUCTION:
Para sport access is essential for promoting health and well-being among individuals with disabilities. Para athletes have diverse health and performance-related needs that current research agendas do not adequately address. Improved representation in research and an enhanced understanding of this population is needed to advance accessibility, performance, and equity in Para sport. PURPOSE: To understand Team USA Paralympic athletes’ experiences and identify topics within sports medicine and science domains to enhance the performance environment and resources available in Para sport.
METHODS:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 athletes (females, n = 11; age, 31±9yr) representing four categories of eligible medical conditions recognized by the International Paralympic Committee impairment classification system (muscle and movement, bone-related conditions, visual impairments, central nervous system disorders) and 11 different sports. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) tradition, which establishes rigor through multi-person analysis and triangulation. Interview transcripts were randomly selected, and individual coders produced an initial codebook of categories and themes. The research team then compared their individual codebooks to create a consensus codebook, which was then used to code all remaining interviews.
RESULTS:
Five themes emerged from the interviews: “Journey to Becoming a Paralympic Athlete,” “Challenges of Paralympic Sport Participation,” “Advantages of Paralympic Sport Participation,” “Resources for Paralympic Athletes,” and “Recommendations for Improvements.” Athletes offered recommendations for individuals to pursue Para sport involvement, noting that the benefits outweigh the challenges, particularly in social dynamics, self-identity, and physical health after an acquired impairment. In addition to routine sport-specific challenges (e.g., injury, performance pressure), they also discussed their impairment’s role in challenges related to sport travel and training requirements (e.g., unable to drive themselves to a training facility) and organizational changes (e.g., equal pay initiatives). Despite satisfaction with existing resources, athletes often had to seek out support due to a lack of access and/or convenience. Athletes highlighted the need for improved research efforts in sports medicine and performance that target disability-specific needs, more homogeneous classification systems, and improved community awareness of Para sport for future generations.
CONCLUSION:
Despite ongoing challenges that Para sport athletes face regarding sport participation, the benefits of engaging in sport far outweigh these challenges. Para sports organizations should establish pipelines that promote sport participation while reducing impairment-specific barriers and acknowledging routine sport-related challenges that all athletes encounter, regardless of impairment.