Social, Economic and Overall Health Impacts of COVID-19 on People Living with Disabilities in King County, WA

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated mitigation measures to reduce the spread of disease affected the social, economic, and overall health of individuals. Quantitative administrative datasets typically did not contain demographic information that allowed for reporting or analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on people living with disabilities. Understanding the experiences of this population during the pandemic can inform the design of public health responses that are more robust and better connected to community. This paper describes a qualitative participatory study with a diverse sample of people living with disabilities in King County, WA. Through 2 listening sessions and 35 semi-structured interviews, it examines what impacts COVID-19 brought for people living with disabilities; elucidates the supports that were helpful in addressing COVID-19 impacts; examines inequities faced by the disability community; and sheds light on how to engage with this community to inform the public health emergency response. The process, protocols, findings, and lessons learned are replicable by other local health departments and could be incorporated as part of routine data collection and considered for future public health emergencies.

Lessons Learned From Applying a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to Economic, Social, and Other Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…As a best practice, PHSKC worked with communities and subject matter experts on messaging to ensure outputs that include disparities are not creating more harm or stigma and to validate whether quantitative findings are matching the community's on-the-ground experiences. 23,24 Because of the breadth of the data shared, PHSKC rarely received data requests that could not be answered by using the existing dashboards.…”

“…For example, PHSKC partnered with CBOs for the community of people living with a disability, as data on ability status are not routinely collected. 23…”

The impact of UK social distancing guidance on the health and wellbeing of disabled people during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative exploration

“…Qualitative work conducted with people with disabilities living in the USA during the pandemic highlighted di culties accessing resources, healthcare, and public amenities. (14,15), increased anxiety and depression (3), and the need for improved accessibility within vaccination sites and more inclusive COVID-19 communication strategies (1). A study in New Zealand found that the pandemic exacerbated hegemonic ableist communication, such as health providers adherence to wearing face masks making access to healthcare inordinately di cult for deaf people (16).…”