Promoting physical activity for children with disabilities in Calgary

Emerging Leaders in Health Promotion grant program

Dr. Sarah MacEachern, pediatric resident (R3)

There’s no questioning the negative consequences of inadequate physical activity levels in children, especially those with disabilities. For all that inactivity, there’s a big price to be paid physically, academically and socially.

That was the challenge that Dr. Sarah MacEachern, pediatric resident (R3) at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, chose to tackle when she initiated her 2016-17 Emerging Leaders in Health Promotion grant project: Promoting physical activity for children with disabilities in Calgary.

Beginning during her undergraduate studies at Acadia University, Sarah has been a long-time volunteer with a special love for working with children with disabilities. It all started with a conversation she had with the frustrated mother of a child who had “aged out” of the Children’s Adapted Physical Activity (CAPA) program (started in 2011 through Mount Royal University by Sarah and Dr. David Legg). This conversation motivated Sarah to focus on helping children and youth with disabilities access physical activity.

“The literature shows that the average Canadian child does not get enough physical activity to meet Canadian guidelines,” says Sarah. “Children with disabilities have higher rates of obesity and lower rates of physical fitness compared to their peers, suggesting that they’re getting even less physical activity.”

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