Information about project titled 'YoungParaHealthy – Use of mapping data from para-athletes'
YoungParaHealthy – Use of mapping data from para-athletes
| Details about the project - category | Details about the project - value |
|---|---|
| Project status: | Ongoing |
| Project manager: | Hilde Moseby Berge |
| Coworker(s): | Josefine Horn |
Description
UngParaFRISK investigates what promotes and limits participation in para sports, with a focus on health-related challenges. The goal is to gather knowledge that will contribute to better health outcomes among para-athletes and increased participation in para sports.
Purpose: The project YoungParaHEALTHY - Use of data from Para athletes has three main aims:
- Analyze data from the pilot project in collaboration with the user group.
- Follow up participants from the pilot project to examine whether their participation has been beneficial.
- Communicate insights and recommendations to relevant target groups, with the aim of supporting lifelong participation in sports for persons with disabilities.
Background: There is a need for deeper insight into the health challenges faced by para-athletes. This became evident in the ParaFRISK project, which showed that Paralympic athletes were, on average, absent from sport for over a month each year due to illness or injuries.
As a follow-up, the pilot project UngParaFRISK – a pilot project for lifelong participation in sport – was launched. The aim was to support lifelong participation in sport, and the project collected health related data from 153 Para athletes aged 16 to 40. The participants represented a wide range of summer and winter sports, as well as various types of disabilities. All participants had exercised weekly for at least one year, and were physically disabled or had a visual impairment.
The ongoing project YoungParaHEALTHY – Use of data from Para Athletes – builds on this data.
Methods: The ongoing YoungParaHEALTHY project is built around three key components:
1. Collaborative Data Analysis: We are working closely with a user group to review and interpret the extensive unidentified data collected during the pilot phase. This group includes representatives from patient organizations, as well as current and former Paralympic athletes and coaches.
2. Participant Follow-Up: All previous participants will be invited to a brief follow-up. They will receive a short questionnaire and will be offered a consultation with a physician to reflect on whether the project was beneficial to them.
3. Sharing Insights and Recommendations: Findings from the data analysis and follow-up will be used to develop practical advice for the target audience. These insights will be shared through relevant channels to promote lifelong participation in sport for individuals with disabilities.
Implications: In the short term, the aim is to provide each participant with practical and relevant advice on health-related challenges, which can support increased participation in sports.
In the longer term, the goal is to develop evidence-based measures that promote both physical and mental health, and enable lifelong participation in Para sports. We believe this can also have a positive impact on involvement in work, education, and social life.
We aim to share our findings with relevant audiences to:
- Raise awareness of health-related challenges among Para athletes
- Emphasize diseases, conditions, and injuries that require better treatment options
- Highlight support resources that could benefit more people
More information about the project can be found on NIH`s website.