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Phase two of EFDS research examines motivations of disabled people

In September, the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) revealed a report on disabled people’s lifestyles and their participation in physical activity. This study forms part of EFDS’s wider organisation’s future strategy and the start of our layered insight approach in sport for disabled people. Now the national charity and body dedicated to disabled people in sport and physical activity is moving on to the next stage of the research plan. The aim is to dig deeper and find out more about what drives disabled people to take part in sport or physical activity, in particular those who are currently inactive but want to be active. 

The reality is that four out of five disabled people are not taking part in any activity on a regular basis. They are also half as likely as non-disabled people to be active. For EFDS to advise in greater detail about disabled people’s needs in sport, then the organisation needed to know what, where, when and how do they actually want to take part. Everybody, whether disabled or non-disabled, has motivational drivers, triggers and lifestyles which steer their actions to do most things in their lives. Sport and physical activity are no different. Unless there is a huge motivation to become a Paralympian, which is only a minority of disabled people, then sport and physical activity fits around their lives, not vice versa. Therefore, EFDS ran the lifestyle survey to find out this particular information from November 2012 to January 2013.

The aim of this first phase was to find out more about all disabled people in England. It also meant we could find possible common traits across the disabled respondents in their lifestyles and experiences. Key to the findings was the analysis on whether there were any similar connections in demographical data, barriers and marketing reach. The demographic groups included gender, age, type of impairment, whether the impairment is congenital (born with) or acquired (developed after birth), education (mainstream or special school) and their current activity status.

The research highlighted some stark findings:

  • There is a clear untapped demand for sport and physical activity, with 70 per cent of those surveyed saying they want to do more.
  • 64 per cent of disabled people surveyed would prefer to take part in sport and physical activity with a mix of disabled and non-disabled people, however only 51 per cent currently do.  Therefore, the research highlights a clear mismatch between preference and availability.
  • Over half of disabled people surveyed  (51 per cent) are not enjoying their experiences of sport in school, compared to 69 per cent enjoying taking part in sport or physical activity with friends outside of school.
  • Over 60 per cent of those surveyed claimed that either a lack of awareness of opportunities or a lack of available opportunities is what prevents them from taking part in sport and physical activity.

It is still common for a lot of providers within the sport and fitness sector to deliver programmes or opportunities which they market to disabled people as one single “target” group. There is often not even an age, impairment or gender differentiation, which creates its own barriers. EFDS is fully aware that many providers have their own capacity, money and time constraints  but if the opportunities are not being taken up, then it is important to find out why.

As well as the barriers to sporting participation, the EFDS study also highlighted a number of positive experiences which present opportunities for policymakers and sports providers: 

  • 69 per cent of those surveyed stated that playing sport or being active was important to them.
  • The top three reasons people surveyed gave for taking part is ‘because it is fun’, ‘to keep fit’ and ‘to keep healthy’.
  • Whilst only half of those surveyed enjoyed sport at school, disabled people who attended a special school were more likely to have enjoyed PE at school (69 per cent).
  • The language used to describe opportunities plays a big role in how they will appeal to disabled people. Different language is needed depending on the target audience.  For example disabled women prefer the descriptive term ‘recreational activities’ whilst disabled men surveyed preferred to use the term ‘sport’. 

EFDS already use an adapted marketing model (below) to show how disabled people can be grouped based on engagement in sport, rather than just demographic position. It can be used for any audience to be taken through a journey from non-active to advocate of sport and physical activity. If the different marketing mix is applied effectively at each level, then it should help sustain and grow participation.

 EFDS engagement ladder

 

Phase two of the plan is acting upon the results of our research, especially the top finding that seven in ten disabled people want to lead more active lives. As a key potential group of participants, the “inactive but want to be active” means the second tier of our engagement ladder above (pro-activity but not fully engaged) has a significant role in sustaining disabled people’s participation.

Emma Spring, Research and Insight Manager of EFDS, said:

“As we are building the portfolio of our own research and capturing others’ insight, we are learning where a lot of the gaps are for disabled people in sport and physical activity. This group is clearly a market waiting to be captured and because of their value in participation rates, it is important for us to understand why there are gaps, how they can be filled and most importantly- why they are not being filled right now.”

In the second phase, EFDS will commission more in-depth research to better understand disabled people’s views and perceptions of sport and physical activity, with particular focus on the non-active disabled people. The study will research a cross-sector of disabled individuals to determine their motivations to do more, as well as their barriers which limit their participation. Results will also examine favoured types of opportunities and communication messages.

This valuable group of disabled people has been found in the first phase to have the desire to access more attractive opportunities in sport and physical activity. EFDS hopes the results of phase two will enable providers to deliver more tailored activities based on the proven needs of disabled people.

To read the different versions of EFDS’s Lifestyle Report, please click the below documents: 

Disabled People s Lifestyle Survey Exec Sum Sept 2013

To read the full report (PDF version) click here:

Disabled People s Lifestyle Survey Report Sept 2013

To read the full report (word version) click here:

Disabled People s Lifestyle Survey Report Sept 2013

 

All media enquiries should be directed to Sarah Marl by email or by mobile 07764 291671. All research enquiries should be directed to Emma Spring by email or mobile 07817 787542