UNIVERSAL DESIGN: A STRATEGY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES´ ACCESS TO PHYSICAL EXERCISE PROGRAMS

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze documents published in the BDTD, Scielo and Google academic databases that discuss universal design and people with disabilities, looking for to identify whether academies and training spaces have applied inclusion and accessibility strategies that also meet to people with disabilities based on the principles of universal design. This is a literature qualitative narrative review. We analyzed fourteen (14) documents.  The results showed that people with disabilities participation in physical activity programs comes up against several difficulties, especially in accessibility. When analyzing the organizational model, the conditions of the facilities, the materials and the human resources presented, there is a deficiency in the spaces, they do not meet the needs of people with disabilities or the principles of universal design. Finally, we concluded that the regular practice of physical exercise is directly related to people´s quality of life and the environments intended for these activities must be designed to provide global access, serving people with and without disabilities. The lack of accessibility and the applicability of universal design principles demonstrate that there is still a significant distance between reality and the ideal of inclusion.

Received on: 2022/06/08

Reformulated on: 2022/06/21

Accepted: 2022/06/21