Exploring health and wellbeing outcomes for young people with disability in a swimming program: A constructivist grounded theory approach

This thesis investigates how structured swimming programs influence the health and wellbeing of young people with disability, positioning inclusive sport as a critical yet underutilized resource within fragmented policy landscapes. Adopting a constructivist epistemology, the study views knowledge as co-constructed through lived experience and social interaction, and conceptualizes wellbeing as an emergent, relational construct embedded within dynamic ecological systems and differentiated by individual needs. Wellbeing is theorized as negotiated across personal, social, and environmental domains rather than as a static or individualistic state, drawing on ecological systems theory and need hierarchies. A constructivist grounded theory design with reflexive thematic analysis was employed, generating data from interviews, observations, and program engagement. Iterative coding, constant comparison, and NVivo-assisted analysis ensured rigor through memo-writing, triangulation, and sustained reflexivity. Findings articulate a multidimensional model of wellbeing through three interrelated dimensions—Direction (sense of self), Pathway (environmental affordances and constraints), and Person (advocacy and relational support). Swimming participation emerges as a catalyst for resilience, social inclusion, and holistic health, yet these benefits are constrained by systemic and structural barriers, including fragmented governance, risk-averse cultures, and funding priorities privileging acute care over preventative initiatives. The study advocates evidence-informed reforms that dismantle institutional inertia, reconfigure funding models toward long-term wellbeing outcomes, and embed inclusive sport—specifically swimming—within disability policy as both a preventative health measure and a rehabilitative resource. These insights contribute to theoretical discourses on relational wellbeing and offer a framework for aligning practice with principles of social inclusion and health equity.