University Research Theme: Social change and equity, Healthy people, families and communities
There are approximately 35,000 Australians who live with cerebral palsy (CP). Young adults with CP want to be active and enjoy the health and social benefits of exercise. However, there is a lack of tailored information and many barriers to accessing physical activity environments, such as inaccessible equipment, a lack of support, and low confidence. The research shows that young people with CP are more likely to participate in and maintain physical activity when:
- staff are trained to support people with CP
- environments are welcoming and supportive
- information is understandable and personalised.
CP-Pathfinding: Fitness for Life is a resource designed for young adults with CP, by young adults with CP, their key supporters, allied health professionals and researchers, to better support physical activity experiences at home or in the community.
Impact
In October 2025, we released a range of free resources on a new website – CP-Pathfinding –https://www.cerebralpalsypathfinding.org/. The website resources include:
- The Fitness for Life Guide – a practical guide to getting active for young adults with CP
- Pathfinders in action – stories about physical activity from young adults with CP
- A resource library – including downloadable checklists, templates and links to physical activity research.
More than 1,100 people have visited the website in the first month from across the world, including The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Turkey. The CP-Pathfinding Fitness for Life resources are increasing the knowledge and skills of young adults with CP as they seek to learn more about physical activity as adults, grow their autonomy, exercise choice, and enjoy themselves along the way.
Supporters
Funding: Australian Physiotherapy Association Physiotherapy Research Foundation, Healthy Trajectories Research Hub
Community partners: Cerebral Palsy Support Network, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, My CP Guide
Research: La Trobe University, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, CP-Achieve Centre for Research Excellence, Monash University, Melbourne University, Australian Catholic University.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
