Outdoor play of children with and without disabilities. Insights from the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland and Italy

Several factors might affect outdoor play (individual and family aspects, neighbourhood environment, policy and socio-cultural factors). The Covid-19 lockdowns became a barrier to outdoor play and had a greater impact on children with disabilities. This study describes the outdoor activities and play and the contextual factors that affected them in 4- to 13-year-old children with and without disabilities. 1,667 parents answered an online questionnaire with both open-ended and close-ended questions during the first lockdown in Ireland and Italy in 2020. Parents perceived their children as being unable to play outside as they could before Covid-19. The built environment impacted children’s access to outdoor spaces. A content analysis was run on the parents’ responses to open-ended questions describing children’s outdoor activities and play, and the contextual factors affecting them. Results showed that the active role of adults in organising routines, spaces and introducing changes, and the existing features of the outdoor built environment were crucial to support outdoor play. Comparing the contextual factors supporting outdoor play and activities of children with and without disabilities, the main difference concerned the type of role played by the adults. Some differences due to age, gender and nationality were also discussed.