Abstract

Playful technology has the potential to support physical activity (PA) among wheelchair users, but little is known about design considerations for this audience, who experience significant access barriers. In this paper, we leverage the Integrated Behavioural Model (IBM) to understand wheelchair users’ perspectives on PA, technology, and play.
First, we present findings from an interview study with eight physically active wheelchair users. Second, we build on the interviews in a survey that received 44 responses from a broader group of wheelchair users. Results show that the anticipation of positive experiences was the strongest predictor of engagement with PA, and that accessibility concerns act as barriers both in terms of PA participation and technology use. We present four design goals - emphasizing enjoyment, involving others, building knowledge and enabling flexibility - to make our findings actionable for researchers and designers wishing to create accessible playful technology to support PA.