Identification and Prioritization of Barriers to the Participation of Physical-Motional Disabled Women in Sports in Qom Province

The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize the barriers to the participation of physical-motional disabled women in sport leisure programs in Qom province. This research is a type of applied research that was conducted in a survey. The statistical sample, which was selected on the basis of convenient sampling, includes physical-motional disabled women who paid regular visits to well-being and social work centers (200 people). The employed instrument was the adjusted Pour Ranjbar, et al.’s (2014) 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. Its content validity was confirmed by a panel of experts from the field of sport management and its reliability was confirmed by using Cronbach's alpha (0.74). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Friedman test for ranking of obstacles and related items). The findings of the study revealed that the barriers to the participation of women with physical disabilities in priority order are economic, media, structural, cultural, social barriers as well as social networks and individual barriers. It seems that obviating the financial constraints and awareness-raising through the mass media are the two key factors that can, to a large extent, increase the participation of women with physical disabilities in sport activities.