What's the problem? While the American Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 both prohibit discrimination and ensures equal opportunity and access for persons with disabilities, there are still major gaps in travel services that prevent people from pursuing travel. Lack of accessibility of the built environment and inadequate transportation options have been the most common reasons for reduced participation in travel for SCI individuals. But travel and tourism literature point to other factors beyond accessibility. Recent research shows that the non-physical environment including attitudes of staff in the tourism industry and lack of information and understanding about the special needs of people with disabilities greatly impedes the desire to travel. In addition, the extensive planning for long distance travel, inaccurate information about accessibility of travel destinations, lack of specialist travel agencies and limited resources have all been cited as barriers. Would you agree?
Thus, despite the implementation of both the ADA and ACAA which have both improved travel accesibility, there is still much to be done to improve the travel experience for our SCI community. What would you like to see get better? How can we utilize the medical community to decrease the burden of travel planning and improve travel preparedness for SCI patients? Is there a role for smartphone technology to elevate your travel experiences? These are just some of the questions our Travel Project Team at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center are interested in answering.
So who are we? The SCI Travel Project team is comprised of SCI providers and therapists who are dedicated to finding better solutions to barriers to travel for our patients. And we need your help! We are developing travel tools to help more people living with SCI get out into our communities and the world... and we want your input! We want to hear your opinions, travel experiences and suggestions! Come to the June United Spinal Association Chapter meeting to hear more about our Travel Project and what we have in the works! We look forward to seeing you next month!