Health Research
2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games Healthy Athletes Screening Data
People with intellectual disabilities consistently do not have access to and are not receiving the health care they need even though they are at greater risk for medical complications than the general population. Over the last decade Special Olympics — through the Healthy Athletes® initiative — has become a leading advocate for improved health care policies and programs for persons with intellectual disabilities.
The goal of Special Olympics Healthy Athletes is to improve every athlete’s ability to train and compete in Special Olympics events by increasing the quality and availability of health care through clinical screenings. By collecting and analyzing data on the health status and needs of those with intellectual disabilities and educating health care professionals on those needs, Special Olympics has begun to raise awareness and create change for this population.
Special Olympics published a monograph presenting the Healthy Athletes screening findings (Adobe PDF, 350K) from the Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Dublin, Ireland, in 2003. This report is unique in scope and depth in that it reveals the results of health data for the largest sample of persons with intellectual disabilities. Nearly 11,000 individual health screenings were conducted across six disciplines for 3,531 different athletes, averaging approximately three screenings per athlete.
Key Findings
- Thirty percent (30%) of all athletes reported never having received an eye exam.
- Only thirty-two percent (32%) of all athletes reported awareness regarding sun protection needs, and even fewer athletes took action to protect themselves from the sun by wearing sunscreen, hats or sunglasses, or by seeking shade.
- Forty percent (40%) of all participants at the Health Promotion venue scored above normal on the Body Mass Index (BMI), indicating they were overweight.
- Fifty percent (50%) of athletes had at least one or more types of skin or nail conditions.
- Thirty-two percent (32%) of all athletes did not pass the pure tone test at the 2000 Hz level.
- Over twenty percent (23%) of athletes were referred for follow-up by a physical therapist.
- Fifty-three percent (53%) of all athletes had obvious signs of gingival infection.
These data show that across health disciplines an alarming number of persons with intellectual disabilities are not receiving the health care they need. These findings demonstrate gaps in the health care system for this population that need to be addressed.
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