Wellness Programming For Adults With Disabilities: A Qualitative Inquiry Of Stakeholders’ Perspectives

<p>There is a well-established need for a wellness program for adults with disabilities in the regional community. In alignment with best practice guidelines, and as a first step in the development of a program in the regional community, qualitative methodology was utilized to explore the views of key community stakeholders to gain an in-depth understanding of their perceptions of wellness programming needs for adults with disabilities in the regional community. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews which specifically explored barriers and facilitators to wellness programming for this population in the regional community to inform future steps of program development. Three main themes emerged for barriers: accessibility, community factors, and political factors while two main themes emerged for facilitators: accessibility and community factors during the data analysis. These themes were further viewed through the lens of the Social Ecological Model (SEM) to determine the specific implications of the findings on subsequent stages of program development. Upon completion of this step, it was recognized that all five layers of influence were represented in the study’s findings. Therefore, moving forward, it will be prudent to incorporate these results and consider the multiple layers of influence of the SEM as future planning commences in order to build a program with lasting results (Drum et al., 2009, LaMorte, 2019; DHHS, 2020).</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Roca, Courtney

Contributors dc:contributor

• Michelle Collay
• Kimberly Roberts-Morandi
• Pamela Reynolds

• Educational Leadership

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dune.une.edu/theses/281

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dune.une.edu:theses-1280