Athletes and coaches in Special Olympics programs were aware of health deficits and knew of ways to reduce them, with health-oriented sporting activities offering promise in improving the health and wellbeing of persons with developmental disabilities, particularly in less affluent countries with fewer health professionals and poorly developed primary care services.
Coaches and athletes across all countries agreed that the most common health needs were healthy eating, healthy weight, and exercise.
Both athletes and coaches recognized that coaches could contribute to athlete health through motivating athletes and providing training activities.
Engagement with families and available health and social care services was identified as essential to coaches promoting athlete health.
Athletes with intellectual disabilities demonstrated awareness of their own health deficits and knowledge of ways to reduce them.
Research on the perceptions of sports coaches around incorporating health promotion within sports training had been scarce prior to this study.
The study used a qualitative, descriptive design with group interviews conducted via Zoom across eight national Special Olympics programs.
Health-oriented sporting activities were identified as particularly promising for improving health and wellbeing in less affluent countries.
This research suggests that sports coaches working with athletes who have intellectual disabilities can play a meaningful role in promoting health and wellbeing, beyond just athletic training. The study gathered perspectives from 62 coaches and 47 athletes across eight countries through the Special Olympics organization, using group video interviews. Both coaches and athletes consistently identified healthy eating, maintaining a healthy weight, and physical exercise as the most pressing health needs, with mental wellbeing and good sleep also recognized as important. Importantly, athletes themselves showed awareness of their own health challenges and had ideas about how to address them, which challenges assumptions that people with intellectual disabilities cannot engage meaningfully with health topics. The research also found that while coaches and athletes saw real potential in using sports programs to promote health, success depended on having access to appropriate resources, and on building connections with athletes' families and existing health and social care services. Coaches alone could not address health needs in isolation — a broader network of support was seen as essential. This research suggests that community sports organizations like Special Olympics could serve as an underutilized vehicle for health promotion among people with developmental disabilities, especially in lower-income countries where formal healthcare infrastructure is limited. Given that people with disabilities globally tend to have worse health outcomes and less access to health services than their non-disabled peers, findings like these point toward practical, community-based approaches that could help close that gap without requiring large medical systems.
McConkey R, Murray F. (2026). The Role of Sport Coaches in Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Athletes with Developmental Disabilities.. International journal of environmental research and public health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23050620