Abstract
Physical activity (PA) is crucial for mitigating non-communicable diseases and enhancing health outcomes among adults with intellectual disabilities (IDs). Despite these benefits, adults with IDs engage in significantly less PA compared to their typically developing peers. This scoping review aimed to map existing literature on PA interventions designed to increase PA among adults with IDs aged 18 to 64, building on previous work (Hassan et al., 2019; Temple et al., 2017). Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) five-step framework was followed. Inclusion criteria included adults with IDs aged 18 to 64 years; a PA intervention aimed to initiate, maintain, or develop PA; utilization of outcome measures to evaluate PA quantitatively or qualitatively; and published in English peer-reviewed journals. A comprehensive search across six databases yielded 8069 studies following deduplication, with 12 meeting the inclusion criteria. The findings indicated that the majority of included studies were quantitative (8), with three mixed design studies, and one qualitative study. The length of interventions ranged from 6 to 40 weeks. The interventions contained activities such as strength and balance exercises, yoga classes, aquatic sessions, and a combination of sports and exercises. Studies included participants with mild to severe IDs and were conducted in settings such as rehabilitation and care centers, schools, university recreation centers, pools, agencies serving adults with IDs, web-based platforms, and home settings. The broad scope and context of the reviewed articles will be discussed, along with recommendations for future intervention research in adults with IDs.
