Current Quality of Life Metrics and Their Feasibility and Applicability in Adaptive Sports

There is already widespread evidence that participation in adaptive sports contributes to a significant improvement in quality of life. This review will cover the current metrics in assessing quality of life and determine their feasibility in evaluating large-scale adaptive sports organizations, which can serve populations with very diverse types of disabilities.

Quality of life has historically been studied in patients with a spinal cord injury, leaving many groups under researched in terms of the benefit from adaptive sports. Multiple metrics have been developed to address different types of disabilities but leave the evidence disconnected.

No standardized metric has studied the quality of life in a community with a very wide range of disabilities. Previous literature has also pushed for more subjective definitions of quality of life — aspects that current metrics do not address. A single, standardized metric is needed, as consistent evidence is of utmost importance to support these communities.