The physical activity messaging study is a research project that tests what types of messaging is most effective at encouraging Disabled people to be active. The study is being co-produced between Durham University, Disability Rights UK and a group of Disabled individuals.
The idea for the project arose from Get Yourself Active’s Sounding Board group, which is a group of Disabled individuals who meet once every two months with the GYA team to discuss present barriers that Disabled people are facing in the sports and physical activity sector. One of the recurring themes from the group was that the current messaging on physical activity for Disabled people from the government does not speak to Disabled people. It was felt that the current government messaging is ableist and uses fear-mongering tactics with phrases like “Don’t be still for too long” and “Being inactive is harmful” deeming the messaging to be ineffective as this type of messaging tends to have a negative impact on Disabled people. We, therefore, wanted to launch a campaign aimed at changing its messaging on physical activity for Disabled people. However, for the government to take our campaign seriously, we needed evidence to back it up, which resulted in us starting the messaging study project.
For the study, we will work with Disabled individuals to create our own messaging aimed at supporting Disabled people to be physically active. Through three surveys, we will test our messaging against two other widely used organisations’ messaging. We aim to recruit 100 Disabled individuals for each survey and have the results in by the end of the year with the aim of starting the messaging campaign at the beginning of 2025.
If you are a Disabled adult aged between 19 – 64, live in the UK and are interested in taking part. Please contact Patrick Jachyra at patrick.jachyra@durham.ac.uk
