Apparel-related participation barriers: ability, adaptation and engagement

Abstract Purpose: To document apparel-related barriers faced by people with disabilities (PWD) and their families as they attempted to engage in various aspects of social participation, and explore the often invisible relationship between apparel-related barriers and disablement. Method: For this qualitative research, we used focus groups to interview PWD, their caregivers and/or parents and health providers to document the experience of apparel-related barriers to community or social participation. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to analyse interview transcripts and noted. Results: Participant’s responses were grouped into categories of unmet need for adaptive apparel as well as a list of specific apparel-related barriers that participants struggled to navigate in daily life; including functional, cultural and sensory-based issues. Conclusions: The lack of adequate accessible apparel for PWD exacerbated barriers to community participation and disablement, and identified the need for innovation in design, production, distribution and sale, of adaptive clothing. Implications for Rehabilitation The lack of adaptive or appropriate clothing or apparel for people living with disabilities can become a barrier, preventing engagement in meaningful activities, yet these barriers are not often explicitly identified. Cultural issues regarding clothing and the process of dressing may become unspoken barriers to engagement in meaningful activities, impacting the way care services are assigned. Rehabilitation professionals may need to take clothing and apparel-related issues faced by their clients into account, so that opportunities for social participation can be maximised.