Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies
Date Submitted: Jun 24, 2025
Date Accepted: Jan 26, 2026
Fun Meets Fitness: A Retrospective Exploration of Technology-Driven Group Exercise Program Implementation in an Underserved Community
ABSTRACT
Background:
People with disabilities, particularly those from racial and ethnic minority groups living in underserved communities, face numerous barriers to physical activity across the socioecological model. Technology-driven exercise programs offer promising solutions, but the contextual factors that influence their uptake, fidelity, and sustainability remain underexplored.
Objective:
This study applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to examine stakeholder perspectives on the implementation of two group-based, technology-driven exercise programs—group online fitness and active virtual reality (VR) gaming—delivered to older adults with disabilities and/or chronic health conditions in an underserved community setting.
Methods:
Using a primarily deductive content analysis approach, transcripts from semistructured interviews and focus groups with program participants, staff, and administrators (N = 15) were analyzed to (1) identify CFIR constructs influencing implementation outcomes for each program and (2) compare stakeholder perspectives on program-specific barriers and facilitators.
Results:
Themes mapped to four CFIR domains (Innovation, Outer Setting, Inner Setting, and Individuals). Key facilitators included program adaptability, no-cost participation, and social engagement. Barriers included cultural resistance to VR, limited community resources, and challenges with long-term sustainability. Although participants overwhelmingly enjoyed the VR program, staff and administrators expressed mixed views on its feasibility and appropriateness.
Conclusions:
Findings underscore the importance of multilevel implementation strategies, including investing in digital infrastructure, community-led advocacy, culturally responsive technology orientation, and sustainable funding models. Future efforts should prioritize early engagement of community champions, development of standardized technology protocols, and broader testing across diverse geographic and demographic contexts.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.