Improving Activity Engagement Among Persons With SCI During COVID-19

The program will be delivered twice-weekly through 45-minute sessions over 6 weeks. An experienced fitness instructor with lived experience and a graduate student from the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, will lead a class of 4-6 participants. The sessions will be comprised of a 10-minute warm-up phase, a 25-minute aerobic phase and a 10-minute cool-down phase that will incorporate upper-extremity flexibility exercises and mindfulness meditation. Over the duration the instructor will be sensitive to varying levels of function and fitness and will structure the classes to enable a slow progression of intensity. Individual semi-structured interviews will be completed over the WebEx platform to garner feedback and improve study programming for future implementation of a health care service at Parkwood Institute Outpatient Clinic.