EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Accessibility of health clubs for people with mobility disabilities and visual impairments

J.H. Rimmer, B. Riley, E. Wang and A. Rauworth

American Journal of Public Health, 2005, vol. 95, issue 11, 2022-2028

Abstract: Objective. We sought to examine the accessibility of health clubs to persons with mobility disabilities and visual impairments. Methods. We assessed 35 health clubs and fitness facilities as part of a national field trial of a new instrument. Accessibility Instruments Measuring Fitness and Recreation Environments (AIMFREE), designed to assess accessibility of fitness facilities in the following domains: (1) built environment, (2) equipment, (3) swimming pools, (4) information, (5) facility policies, and (6) professional behavior. Results. All facilities had a low to moderate level of accessibility. Some of the deficiencies concerned specific Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines pertaining to the built environment, whereas other deficiency areas were related to aspects of the facilities' equipment, information, policies, and professional staff. Conclusions. Persons with mobility disabilities and visual impairments have difficulty accessing various areas of fitness facilities and health clubs. AIMFREE is an important tool for increasing awareness of these accessibility barriers for people with disabilities.

Date: 2005
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2004.051870

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2004.051870_0

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.051870

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2004.051870_0