QF programme featured in leading international medical journal

The success of Qatar Foundation’s (QF) innovative ability friendly community sports programme has been highlighted in a paper published in last month’s BMJ Innovations, an online journal which focuses on emerging digital health, medical devices, and system innovations.

BMJ Innovations is a specialist peer-reviewed online journal from The BMJ, one of the world’s most eminent and cited medical publications.'The road to success: Lessons learned from the Qatar Foundation Ability Friendly Programme' is co-authored by the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) and the team behind the QF Ability Friendly (AF) programme. It outlines major challenges and mitigation strategies for those looking to develop similar programmes that promote inclusion for all. A first of its kind in Qatar, the programme curriculum not only focuses on physical activity for differently abled individuals, but also targets their social development. Data has been collected since the inception of the AF initiative in 2018 to capture the growth of the programme. The survey, conducted by WISH, sought the views of parents and caregivers of the participants, in order to study the impact of the AF programme in Qatar. The results show that, as a direct result of participating in the programme, over 96% of respondents noticed a positive change in their child’s behaviour, including increased self-confidence and improved communication skills, while over 98% said they would recommend the programme to other parents with children with special needs, highlighting the quality of the programme and the high demand for such services in Qatar. Lead author, Maha El Akoum, head of content at WISH, said: “In 2016, WISH published a research report on Autism: A Global Framework for Action. Having examined the findings, our team saw an opportunity to use our parent organisation, QF, as a platform to lead the introduction of ability-friendly programmes within the community to complement Qatar’s National Autism Strategy. The remarkable results of this latest study are hugely encouraging, and we hope to use them to motivate other similar initiatives.”The AF programme incorporates a variety of sports activities including swimming, cricket and football lessons that are tailored specifically to children who have ASD, but is also adapted to cater to a wide age range of individuals, including those with Down syndrome, hearing, visual and physical impairments, as well as learning difficulties. “By measuring its impact and publishing our learnings, our aim is to raise awareness of the importance of such programmes and their impact on society, in order to drive future interest, investment and innovation in the field,” said El-Akoum. In 2017, WISH collaborated with Liverpool Football Club Foundation, the official charity of Liverpool Football Club to host a football training course in QF’s Education City, with the aim of identifying and addressing effective ways in which to engage with children who have autism spectrum disorder and/or sensory or physical impairments. This event became the springboard that launched the programme into Qatar’s wider community.