An Investigation of Factors and Barriers to Participation in Sport for All and Recreation Sport in Turkish, Kurdish and Lor Provinces of Iran

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors and barriers to participation in sport for all and recreation sport in Turkish, Kurdish and Lor provinces of Iran. This study was a descriptive survey. The statistical population consisted of all Turkish, Kurdish and Lor citizens in Iran (N=19105933). 3000 subjects were selected as the sample by stratified random sampling method. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data; its face and content validity was approved by some professors and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach alpha (α=0.725). Finally, 2826 questionnaires were collected. The results showed that the main factors of participation in sport were “vitality in sport”, “sport proportionality with age and health” and “sport in the nature”. Also, the main barriers to participation were “lack of time”, “lack of sport facilities” and “lack of motivation”.  It seems that despite economic problems and health threats due to motor deficiency, the government should allocate a greater share to recreational sport for all sport in these provinces so that it can play a significant role in improving public health.