| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 復健諮商研究所 === 103 === The purpose of this study was to investigate the experience of people with spinal cord injury who participated in wheelchair table tennis and to explore the influence of such sport activities on these people. This study was conducted in a qualitative way. A total of six people with spinal cord injury who has been regularly participated in wheelchair table tennis as their recreational leisure activities for more than 1 year were involved. Semi-structured interviews were adopted as the main data collection instrument. Data analysis involved a reiterative process of coding and organizing interview data.
The findings of this study were in the following：
1.Most participants obtained the information of wheelchair table tennis from disability-related organizations or associations. They chose wheelchair table tennis as their recreational sports mainly because this activity could meet their physical demands and functional performance. Moreover, they could easily access more resources or equipment needed when compared to other recreational sports.
2.The participants’ main motivation for regularly involving was to maintain or improve their physical performance. They considered the activities as having the benefit of relieving complications, enhancing self-confidence, finding enjoyment with other players, reducing stress, increasing opportunities to contact with outside and having the chance of winning the bonuses.
3.The advantages of playing table tennis also included improving heath, abilities for daily living and self-identity. In addition, the opportunity for attending team activities outside the house tended to enhance their social participation, made their life richer, and reducing the pessimistic thinking as a result of having disability.
4.Such implications as bedsore, urinary tract infections, abnormal thermoregulation and restricted movement control were likely to hinder the participant to play wheelchair table tennis. Therefore, the participants usually needed to pay more attention to their body reaction or used assistive devices for support.
5.Through the experiences of playing the wheelchair table tennis, the participants might gradually learn to handle the pressure or the situation when they did not perform very well. Additionally, through the learning process, the involvement in the relevant club and the use of appropriate equipment, their security concerns when playing the table tennis might reduce greatly.
6.In terms of barrier-free environment design, relevant facilities that took the needs of people with spinal cord injury into consideration, well-ventilated space, professional instruction, public transportation and assistive devices were all important issues.
7.Most participants expressed that only a small number of people with spinal cord injury in Taiwan joined in the sports at present. For some areas, available resources and information remained limited. In order to address the gap, the participants generally hoped rehabilitation hospitals could start to promote this sport and the government could provide some rewards to encourage more people with spinal cord injury to participate in wheelchair table tennis.
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