Physical activity promotion in Spanish adults with spinal cord injury: community guidelines, supporting resources and messaging strategies

Purpose: The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to develop spinal cord injury (SCI) physical activity (PA) community guidelines suitable for a Spanish context; (2) to generate seminal resources for supporting PA participation in Spain and, potentially, other Spanish speaking countries; and (3) to identify potential communication strategies for delivering the guidelines and resources. Materials and methods: 19 people with SCI, 4 healthcare professionals, a partnership champion, two critical friends, and two SCI experts participated in a co-designed process of knowledge translation (KT). Available international resources were used as initial prototypes. Focus group discussions, qualitative surveys and member reflections were used to gather relevant insights and action a process of iterative prototyping of the KT products. Results: One infographic, one booklet and two videos were produced. The participants of this research support a model of PA messaging focused on short conversations with a variety of PA messengers, including social workers and occupational therapists. A formal partnership with a neurorehabilitation hospital was established and informed this work throughout. Conclusions: The research has resulted in new resources tailored to Spanish SCI population to promote and support physically active lifestyles.