Quality participation: Perspectives of physical activity service providers for veterans with disabilities

Current physical activity promotion efforts have focused on increasing the number of available programs and frequency of veterans' participation in physical activity (quantity of participation). The perspectives of service providers who provide physical activity programming for veterans with disabilities regarding quality participation have yet to be explored.

The objective of this study was to explore the perspectives of service providers regarding what constitutes quality participation in the physical activity domain for veterans with disabilities.

Twenty-two service providers with experience delivering physical activity programming for military personnel with disabilities were recruited using maximum variation sampling to participate in semi-structured interviews. The interviews explored their experiences of delivering physical activity programming to service members and veterans with disabilities, as well as their perspective of what constitutes a quality physical activity experience for their program participants. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Four themes were identified: 1) a sense of community and shared values; 2) drivers of their own experiences; 3) forging new strengths; and 4) responsibility to the community.

These findings could provide researchers and service providers, including practitioners and rehabilitation specialists, with the foundations necessary for designing, implementing and evaluating physical activity programs that support full participation for veterans with disabilities.