Background/Purpose: College is considered an important time to establish and reinforce regular physical activity and exercise. The campus fitness center is a common facility developed to meet this need; however, these facilities often lack accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Prior research has demonstrated accessibility issues in fitness and recreation centers (Cardinal & Spaziani, 2003; Rimmer et al., 2005), but there are few studies focused exclusively upon the collegiate setting.
Method: The Accessibility Instruments Measuring Fitness and Recreation Environments (AIMFREE) survey was used to assess a randomly stratified sample of 51 university fitness facilities across seven Midwestern states.
Analysis/Results: One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences, F(14,638) = 13.08, p < .001, in summary assessment mean values on a 7-point Likert scale for 15 accessibility related factors. Post hoc analyses identified telephones (M =3.08) as less accessible than all other factors. Whirlpools/hot tubs were the most accessible feature (M = 6.00) scoring significantly higher than eight other factors. Pearson's correlation analyses yielded significant (p < .05) positive relationships between facility square footage and three factors: equipment (r = .503), access routes (r = .378), and Information/signage (r = .298). Six positive relationships were identified between the construction year and the factors of access routes (r = .449), restrooms (r = .470), swimming pools (r = .402), locker rooms (r = .623), information/signage (r = .370), and equipment (r = .358).
Conclusions: These results relate to ADA compliance and provide initial descriptive and analytical data useful for improving accessibility for collegiate fitness facilities.
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