To Your Health

A study performed by a research group in Toronto has opened a window onto the lifestyles of youth with physical disabilities, in an attempt to explore why this population has a high risk of developing secondary disabilities as they become adults.

Youth with physical disabilities are more likely than able-bodied youth to develop heart disease, stroke, respiratory problems and emotional difficulties as they get older. Such conditions can lead to loss of independence and quality of life. Their disabilities, however, are not obvious causes for these health problems. The research team speculated that there must be lifestyle issues for these youth that were putting them at risk. For instance, smoking, alcohol, poor diet, lack of physical activity, social isolation and low self-esteem are all lifestyle factors that can contribute to health problems.

Yet no study had specifically looked at the lifestyles of youth with physical disabilities. It was for this reason that Catherine Steele, Douglas Biggar, Joseph Bortolussi, Jeffrey Jutai and Elizabeth Stevens, all of the Hugh MacMillan Rehabilitation Centre in Toronto, and Ilze Kalnins, of the University of Toronto’s Department of Behavioural Science, launched a study into health behaviours that might place these youth at risk for secondary disabilities in adulthood.

The group surveyed 101 boys and girls in the Toronto area, aged 11 to 16, who had physical disabilities. They found that these youth had poorer diets (eating more junk food and fewer raw vegetables), engaged in less physical activity (watching more TV and exercising less), and had less social activity (they had more difficulty making new friends and spent less free time with friends) than the average Canadian able-bodied youth.

However, the youth with physical disabilities were less likely to smoke or drink alcohol -- none of them had ever been drunk -- and they felt positive toward school. And their self-esteem was as high as that of able-bodied youth.

But research has shown that, as adults, people with physical disabilities are more likely to smoke and drink, have low self-esteem, be socially isolated and display unhappiness or depression than other adults. The youth’s risk for these problems increases as they become adults.

Health promotion initiatives for these youth could assist them as they lay the foundation for their adult lifestyle, by helping them to prevent secondary disabilities and be more independent, participatory members of their communities.

Thus the next step of this research team is to explore health promotion initiatives. They are currently developing the concept of a Centre for Disability and Wellness. They are also conducting a provincial study of youth with disabilities in Ontario. And they are networking with European researchers who wish to collaborate on an international information base on health behaviours of youth with disabilities. Finally, the team is planning a series of workshops for these youth and their families, educators and health care professionals, to promote good health.

Upcoming issues of ABILITIES will follow the developments of this research team in its efforts to keep youth healthy.

(For more information, contact Catherine Steele at the Hugh MacMillan Rehabilitation Centre in Toronto, (416) 425-6220 (or 1-800-363-2440), ext. 642. Or leave an e-mail message at [email protected].)