The public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic for people with disabilities

Boyle, Coleen A.; Fox, Michael H.; Havercamp, Susan M.; Zubler, Jennifer

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.100943

Cited by 156 publications

(191 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Some commentaries, for example, urged governments to provide adequate health resources to populations particularly vulnerable to the development of psychological disorders such as the deaf community. 45 Other authors highlighted the need to ensure equity in medical decisions 47 and the necessity to gather information about infection and mortality rates for people with physical disabilities coupled with other health conditions. 48 It is thus likely that those concerns will result in a larger number of studies about this topic in the forthcoming years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on people with physical disabilities: A rapid review

Lebrasseur

Fortin-Bédard

Lettre

et al. 2021

Disability and Health Journal

213

138

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused drastic changes in the lives of the general population. People with physical disabilities, who commonly encounter daily challenges such as barriers to community mobility, reduced access to healthcare services and higher risk of suffering from depression, may face additional challenges in the context of the pandemic. Objective This study aims to review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, among people with physical disabilities. Methods A rapid review of the published literature was conducted on August 10, 2020 through a search in six online databases to synthesize results from original studies regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with physical disabilities. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health was used to describe the population and the personal and environmental factors with a unified and standard health language. Results Eleven records were extracted from 1621 individual papers retrieved from the search strategy. Various impacts on daily functioning such as a decrease in access to healthcare have been noted during the pandemic. Changes in social and lifestyle habits, mood changes and decreased levels of physical activity were also noted. Conclusions Our results highlighted the lack of early research about the impacts of COVID-19 experienced by people with physical disabilities. Future studies should focus on specific consequences and needs of this vulnerable population to ensure their inclusion in public health recommendations and consideration by policy makers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on people with physical disabilities: A rapid review

Lebrasseur

Fortin-Bédard

Lettre

et al. 2021

Disability and Health Journal

213

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“… 1 Recent reports suggest that PwDs are likely to be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and face multiple challenges. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 The first barrier involves adopting recommended public health guidelines and practicing routine prevention measures (e.g., social distancing and washing hands) that do not consider the needs of PwDs, especially those relying on assistance with personal care. Second, equitable access to health care, a well-documented barrier for PwDs, has worsened during this pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5 Third, PwDs often have difficulty communicating symptoms of illness, resulting in delays in diagnosis and additional virus spread. 3 Finally, PwDs are more likely to have underlying health problems and reside in congregate settings than those without disabilities, thus increasing their infection risks. 5 , 8 , 9 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social inequities in the distribution of COVID-19: An intra-categorical analysis of people with disabilities in the U.S.

Chakraborty

2021

Disability and Health Journal

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Background While recent reports suggest that people with disabilities (PwDs) are likely to be adversely impacted by COVID-19 and face multiple challenges, previous research has not examined if COVID-19 burdens are unequally distributed with respect to the disability characteristics of the U.S. population. Objective This article presents the first national scale study of the relationship between COVID-19 incidence and disability characteristics in the U.S. The objective is to determine whether COVID-19 incidence is significantly greater in counties containing higher percentages of socio-demographically disadvantaged PwDs, based on race, ethnicity, poverty status, age, and biological sex. Methods This study integrates county-level data on confirmed COVID-19 cases from the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering database with multiple disability variables from the 2018 American Community Survey. Statistical analyses are based on bivariate correlations and multivariate generalized estimating equations that consider spatial clustering in the data. Results Greater COVID-19 incidence rate is significantly associated with: (1) higher percentages of PwDs who are Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, below poverty, under 18 years of age, and female; and (2) lower percentages of PwDs who are non-Hispanic White, above poverty, aged 65 or more years, and male, after controlling for spatial clustering. Conclusions Socio-demographically disadvantaged PwDs are significantly overrepresented in counties with higher COVID-19 incidence compared to other PwDs. These findings represent an important starting point for more detailed investigation of the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on PwDs and highlight the urgent need for COVID-19 data collection systems to incorporate disability information.

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“…5 , 6 This is compounded for rural residents because they are more likely to experience disability earlier in life, 7 must travel further to specialty and emergency care; experience higher rates of chronic health conditions including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease, and higher rates of poverty relative to urban. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 It is critical for PwDs to receive, understand, and trust public health information and adopt public health recommendations, 11 especially rural PwDs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%