Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors—User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase Study
BackgroundCanada’s national parks are world-renowned. However, despite recent attempts to improve access, many are not accessible to people with disabilities. With the advent of provincial and federal legislation, standards are being developed to assist with the design and ma...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2022-03-01
|
| Series: | JMIR Research Protocols |
| Online Access: | https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/3/e33611 |
| _version_ | 1797735233109360640 |
|---|---|
| author | Mike Prescott François Routhier Delphine Labbé Marie Grandisson Atiya Mahmood Ernesto Morales Krista L Best Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi Jaimie Borisoff Stéphanie Gamache Bonita Sawatzky William C Miller Laura Yvonne Bulk Julie M Robillard Hailey-Thomas Jenkins Kishore Seetharaman W Ben Mortenson |
| author_facet | Mike Prescott François Routhier Delphine Labbé Marie Grandisson Atiya Mahmood Ernesto Morales Krista L Best Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi Jaimie Borisoff Stéphanie Gamache Bonita Sawatzky William C Miller Laura Yvonne Bulk Julie M Robillard Hailey-Thomas Jenkins Kishore Seetharaman W Ben Mortenson |
| author_sort | Mike Prescott |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundCanada’s national parks are world-renowned. However, despite recent attempts to improve access, many are not accessible to people with disabilities. With the advent of provincial and federal legislation, standards are being developed to assist with the design and management of parks.
ObjectiveThe overarching objective of this study is to inform accessibility standards for federal parks that meet the needs of all park visitors, regardless of ability. The specific objectives of this study are to identify park accessibility standards that exist internationally, identify the accessibility challenges that people with disabilities face in park environments, and prioritize and recommend accessibility standards for national parks.
MethodsA 3-phase approach will be used to achieve the study objectives. In the first phase, a scoping review of the existing accessibility standards will be conducted. The second phase will include objective audits of trails and features in 6 parks, 3 in western Canada and 3 in eastern Canada, as well as mobile interviews with 24 diverse participants in each region regarding their experiences of and recommendations for improving the park’s accessibility. In the final phase, a Delphi participatory consensus development process will be used, based on the data gathered in the first 2 phases, to prioritize recommendations for standards.
ResultsWe expect to find gaps in existing standards that do not account for the diverse range of accessibility requirements that people with disabilities have for visiting parks. We also expect to find that existing standards, on their own, may not be enough to ensure equitable access to all the experiences and amenities that parks have to offer. Development of subsequent guidelines and best practices may be necessary to address complex scenarios for which standards may not be the best approach to ensuring accessibility.
ConclusionsThe participatory and mixed methods approaches used in this study will provide rich insights for developing accessible park standards that consider the diverse needs of people with disabilities. The findings will also support the development or enhancement of park standards at all levels of government.
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/33611 |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:56:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ebad76b829e349df99506195af5098d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1929-0748 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:56:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Research Protocols |
| spelling | doaj.art-ebad76b829e349df99506195af5098d22023-08-28T21:11:58ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482022-03-01113e3361110.2196/33611Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors—User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase StudyMike Prescotthttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7900-2575François Routhierhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5458-6233Delphine Labbéhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3730-4310Marie Grandissonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5874-9039Atiya Mahmoodhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4986-0979Ernesto Moraleshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6488-5093Krista L Besthttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7205-7725Mir Abolfazl Mostafavihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3688-6638Jaimie Borisoffhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9672-8367Stéphanie Gamachehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8301-5176Bonita Sawatzkyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8901-2301William C Millerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3060-0210Laura Yvonne Bulkhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0245-0991Julie M Robillardhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5765-4927Hailey-Thomas Jenkinshttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2217-109XKishore Seetharamanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9323-5620W Ben Mortensonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0183-6163 BackgroundCanada’s national parks are world-renowned. However, despite recent attempts to improve access, many are not accessible to people with disabilities. With the advent of provincial and federal legislation, standards are being developed to assist with the design and management of parks. ObjectiveThe overarching objective of this study is to inform accessibility standards for federal parks that meet the needs of all park visitors, regardless of ability. The specific objectives of this study are to identify park accessibility standards that exist internationally, identify the accessibility challenges that people with disabilities face in park environments, and prioritize and recommend accessibility standards for national parks. MethodsA 3-phase approach will be used to achieve the study objectives. In the first phase, a scoping review of the existing accessibility standards will be conducted. The second phase will include objective audits of trails and features in 6 parks, 3 in western Canada and 3 in eastern Canada, as well as mobile interviews with 24 diverse participants in each region regarding their experiences of and recommendations for improving the park’s accessibility. In the final phase, a Delphi participatory consensus development process will be used, based on the data gathered in the first 2 phases, to prioritize recommendations for standards. ResultsWe expect to find gaps in existing standards that do not account for the diverse range of accessibility requirements that people with disabilities have for visiting parks. We also expect to find that existing standards, on their own, may not be enough to ensure equitable access to all the experiences and amenities that parks have to offer. Development of subsequent guidelines and best practices may be necessary to address complex scenarios for which standards may not be the best approach to ensuring accessibility. ConclusionsThe participatory and mixed methods approaches used in this study will provide rich insights for developing accessible park standards that consider the diverse needs of people with disabilities. The findings will also support the development or enhancement of park standards at all levels of government. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/33611https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/3/e33611 |
| spellingShingle | Mike Prescott François Routhier Delphine Labbé Marie Grandisson Atiya Mahmood Ernesto Morales Krista L Best Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi Jaimie Borisoff Stéphanie Gamache Bonita Sawatzky William C Miller Laura Yvonne Bulk Julie M Robillard Hailey-Thomas Jenkins Kishore Seetharaman W Ben Mortenson Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors—User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase Study JMIR Research Protocols |
| title | Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors—User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase Study |
| title_full | Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors—User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase Study |
| title_fullStr | Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors—User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors—User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase Study |
| title_short | Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors—User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase Study |
| title_sort | providing accessible recreation outdoors user driven research on standards parcours protocol for a multiphase study |
| url | https://www.researchprotocols.org/2022/3/e33611 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mikeprescott providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT francoisrouthier providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT delphinelabbe providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT mariegrandisson providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT atiyamahmood providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT ernestomorales providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT kristalbest providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT mirabolfazlmostafavi providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT jaimieborisoff providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT stephaniegamache providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT bonitasawatzky providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT williamcmiller providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT laurayvonnebulk providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT juliemrobillard providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT haileythomasjenkins providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT kishoreseetharaman providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy AT wbenmortenson providingaccessiblerecreationoutdoorsuserdrivenresearchonstandardsparcoursprotocolforamultiphasestudy |