Development of a training program for improving physical exercise of people with intellectual disabilities through exergames and technology

New technologies are changing the way the world works and especially the way society develops. Although it is true that technologies are helping to minimize the gaps produced by social and physical differences. It is observed that in many cases technology is creating a gap that divides those citizens who have digital skills and those who do not. In addition, in this hyper-connected world sedentarism it is one of the environmental factors that affect the most people's health. Statistics from the World Health Organization confirm that more than 75% of the population develop physical activity under the thresholds of the recommendations. This fact is especially true for the most vulnerable people, those with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, this project addressed the problem of the digital divide with a focus centered on health, to generate tools and methodologies to promote an equal access to digital technologies and to programs to promote physical activity through gamification. In this project we address the need to provide digital skills to people with intellectual disabilities and promote regular physical exercise as a public health prevention strategy.

The main objective of the project was to develop a methodological framework that would allow access to technology and adapted physical activity programs to people with intellectual disabilities in an environment in which access to this type of technology and to this type of knowledge is very limited. The focus was given to people with intellectual disabilities who are institutionalized or who live in day care centers with mild to moderate physical activity. The secondary objective of this project can establish a collaboration base between leading universities in the field of technology development for social inclusion and centers dedicated to the care of people with neurological damage and centers dedicated to social support and the development of people with disabilities intellectual In this way, it was sought to establish the bases that allow for the development of a collaboration in the long term, in which more agents from the European and international panorama are added, including administrations, the third sector, companies and research centers.

The project has been developed on 3 main lines of activities. The first axis of activity (PR01) has consisted of knowing the needs and real characteristics of the environments of day centers and social institutions in the management of physical activity, as well as the preferences and initial status of users in the use of digital technologies on the part of people with intellectual disabilities and their immediate environment. Similarly, within this first axis, activities have been developed to develop content for informal training related to intellectual disability, physical exercise and the development of physical activity programs for people with intellectual disabilities. The second axis of activity (PR2) has consisted in the development of mobile applications to encourage the practice of regular physical exercise by people with intellectual disabilities. Two brand new mobile applications have been designed and developed that, through gamification strategies and with design elements focused on the characteristics of the target users, allow the development of programs for the practice of physical exercise. These activities have also consisted of implementing the applications and testing them in a development environment to ensure that they work properly and without problems. The last line of activity (PR3) has consisted in validating the training program for the development of physical activity programs and the use of mobile apps for the regular practice of physical exercise in two real use scenarios in periods ranging from 30 to 60 days, with a sample of more than 80 users. With all this knowledge of the real test, a methodological guide has been developed for the implementation of the complete program in any type of center that provides social assistance to people with intellectual disabilities. Collaborative activities have been carried out throughout the project, such as periodic transnational meetings, project meetings and workshops, both at consortium level and with entities external to the consortium.

The project has established a methodology and a series of educational resources that have made it possible to increase the regular physical practice of users with intellectual disabilities through the use of mobile applications and digital technologies, as demonstrated by the results of the pilot tests. This result is based on tangible results such as 1) the knowledge base of the needs of people with intellectual disabilities, workers and the family environment that has allowed us to know and prioritize the needs to develop the program; 2) the reference book, structured in 4 chapters and translated into the languages of the consortium, for the introduction of physical activity to people with intellectual disabilities through technology. 3) two mobile applications available in official repositories and with multilingual so that anyone in the world can download and put the program into practice, 4) a methodological guide that allows centers and institutions to adapt this program to their needs with the end to increase the regular physical activity of people with intellectual disabilities, as well as tools to evaluate the degree of implementation of the program and take corrective measures.