Physical-activity support for people with intellectual disabilities: development of a tool to measure behavioural determinants in direct support professionals.
A new three-scale survey reliably captures the beliefs that drive support staff to help adults with ID stay active.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a short self-report tool for support staff. It measures three things that shape how staff help adults with intellectual disabilities stay active.
They tested the tool with a small group of staff. The goal was to see if the scores were steady and if they matched what the Theory of Planned Behaviour says.
What they found
The three scales hung together well. Internal consistency was high and the pattern of scores lined up with theory.
In plain words, the tool gives a quick, reliable snapshot of staff attitudes, social pressure, and perceived control around physical-activity support.
How this fits with other research
Martin et al. (2011) used the same theory and showed that perceived control, not warm feelings, drives staff intention. The new tool turns that lesson into something you can score in five minutes.
McGarty et al. (2018) reviewed parents of children with ID and found the same factors—family buy-in, program fit, social cues—can help or hurt activity. The 2019 tool now lets you check if staff see those same levers.
McGeown et al. (2013) validated walk tests and balance checks for aging clients. Together with the new staff scale, you can pair physical-performance data with staff-mindset data to plan better programs.
Why it matters
You now have a one-page survey that flags which staff feel stuck or unsupported. Use it during supervision to spot who needs training, who needs management backup, or who might champion a new activity club. Better staff data means better activity plans for the adults you serve.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Physical-activity approaches for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more likely to be effective and sustainable if they also target direct support professionals' behaviour. However, no tools to measure the behavioural determinants for direct support professionals are available as of yet. This study aims to construct a self-report tool to measure direct support professionals' behavioural determinants in physical-activity support for people with ID and to analyse its psychometric properties. METHODS: The tools' sub-scales and items corresponded with a proposed conceptual model. A pilot study was carried out to investigate and improve content validity. Construct validity and measurement precision were examined using item response theory models with data from a convenience sample of 247 direct support professionals in the support of people with ID. RESULTS: Results supported the three theory-driven behaviour scales and indicated reasonable to good construct validity. The marginal reliability for the scales ranged from 0.84 to 0.87, and adequate measurement precision along the latent continua was found. CONCLUSIONS: The tool appears to be promising for measuring the behavioural determinants of direct support professionals for the physical-activity support of people with ID and has potential as a tool for identifying areas to focus on for interventions and policies in the future.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2019 · doi:10.1111/jir.12631