Ecological barriers to physical activity among people with mobility disabilities in Indonesia

Introduction: Despite global evidence of profound physical activity disparities affecting individuals with mobility disabilities, context-specific investigations in low-resource settings like Indonesia remain critically limited. Objective: In general, this study identifies the main barriers to physical activity participation in this population using the Health Ecology Model framework, while specifically analysing the comparison of disability type variables based on mobility aids, sex, age, and other barriers. Methodology: Applying the Health Ecology Model, this cross-sectional study identified key participation barriers among 75 participants with mobility disabilities across five Javanese provinces using the BPAQ-MI instrument (SPSS v25; descriptive statistics, EFA, Spearman, logistic regression). Results: Inaccessible infrastructure/transportation was the dominant barrier (83%), significantly reducing engagement odds (OR=0.11, p=0.01). Family support increased participation (r=0.301, p=0.001), surpassing intrapersonal (61%) and interpersonal (57%) constraints. Discussion: Crucially, while structural and gender barriers align with global patterns, the centrality of family support (OR=2.3) contrasts with individualistic-society models emphasising peer influence. Conclusions: This study identified structural barriers as the predominant impediment to physical activity among Indonesians with mobility disabilities, surpassing intrapersonal and interpersonal factors while revealing systemic gaps in disability-inclusive support systems. Consequently, transforming accessible infrastructure, inclusive policies, and kinship networks is imperative; future research necessitates mixed-methods designs, multi-regional cohorts, and longitudinal analyses to decode socio-cultural determinants and intervention efficacy.