Multi-stakeholder perspectives of environmental barriers to participation in travel-related activities after spinal cord injury

Purpose:To help enhance participation, the study aims to identify and document a comprehensive list of environmental barriers for people with SCI in the broad travel setting. Methods:Semi-structured interviews were conducted among four stakeholder groups: people with SCI (n= 39), caregivers and family members of people with SCI (n= 24), therapists who work with people with SCI (n= 9), and travel professionals specializing in accessible travel (n= 11). Results:Five major categories of travel barrier emerged from the interviews: Partial Accessibility, Systemic Ignorance, Travel Hassles, Poor Service Performance, and Lack of Support. Detailed barriers in each category are described. The analysis of multi-stakeholder perspectives indicates while respondents with SCI offered the most specific information about the barriers, family members/caregivers were most concerned about the impact of systemic ignorance on their loved ones. Therapists focused on offering their clients tools to overcome barriers, and travel agents emphasized their limitations of serving customers with disabilities. Conclusion:Results of the study should help not only health and travel professionals better assist individuals to reintegrate into society after SCI, but also travel and hospitality businesses to better meet the accessibility needs of people with SCI.