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Impact of COVID-19 on the people with disabilities

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(@ashishjoshi)
Posts: 121
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Please share your thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on the people with disabilities.

 
Posted : April 18, 2022 4:41 pm
(@suhasini-lanka)
Posts: 3
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the lives of the majority of people worldwide. The pandemic has also disproportionately impacted the lives of people with disabilities. In general, those who have underlying health comorbidities are at a higher risk of getting affected by COVID-19 leading to severe illness and death (Iyengar, 2020). Persons with disabilities face additional challenges when it comes to implementing precautionary and social distancing measures. Contactless practices are nearly impossible for people with visual and locomotor disabilities, due to their dependence on tactile functions for mobility on a daily basis. Those who rely on daily caregivers face unprecedented challenges in maintaining social distance while seeking assistance.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the associated isolation and protective measures, are causing significant changes in the lives of the general public. In addition to the possibility of having COVID-19 and its health-related complications, the people are also experiencing significant consequences in their daily lives, such as increased stress exposure, less productivity, disturbed sleeping patterns, financial issues and depression. Individuals with disabilities consisting of 15% of the global population (Shakespeare, Ndagire & Seketi, 2021) encounter a variety of challenges in their daily lives, including barriers to mobility in the community, and difficulties accessing (Bezyak et al., 2019), and communication barriers. According to Lebrasseur et al. (2021) individuals with impairments have a higher risk of depression, reduced life satisfaction, and increased loneliness as compared to the general population. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) has advised that additional considerations from governments, healthcare systems, disability service providers, institutional settings, communities, and influential people regarding public transportation, and reduced access to healthcare services are required for individuals with disabilities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited services, the unpreparedness of the healthcare authorities and weaknesses in the healthcare system do have a direct impact on people with disabilities (Lebrasseur et al., 2021).   

Accessibility issues:

In most countries, people with disabilities, may rely on public and adapted transportation on a daily basis or to go for regular healthcare or rehabilitation appointments. Some individuals may also require close contact from caregivers or health professionals to complete their daily chores, or have limited communication abilities due to the use of face masks.

People with disabilities face more restrictions such as limited access to healthcare and community support services, among other things, which exacerbate their everyday struggles. Issues related to limited screening or treatment time for people with disability have been reported (Thelwall & Levitt, 2020). Also for those with new-onset disabilities or those engaging in outpatient or community-based rehabilitation, there are interruptions in services with a possible increase in recovery time or preventable loss of function (Negrini et al., 2020).

The barriers faced by the people with disabilities were

  • lack of access to food deliveries; internet; COVID-19 testing; and water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.
  • Lack of or inadequate support for people with disabilities living alone or where family members or support workers are self-isolating or affected by COVID-19.
  • Unclear public health messaging or lack of accessible messaging.
  • Deferment of required medical treatment, including rehabilitation

Researchers and clinicians have noticed that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities face problems when their routine check-ups and healthcare support systems are disrupted, resulting in behavioural changes (Courtenay, 2020).  As much as education about health-related issues and protection from the virus is important for the general population it is equally important for people with different disabilities. Due to the pandemic, these individuals have encountered a health literacy gap related to new health restrictions and routines that need to follow.

Moreover, official public health announcements sometimes fail to reach people living in institutions, as well as people with mental health and substance use disorders who have low personal means, live in unstable housing, or are homeless. Persons with disabilities living in an institutional setting are more likely to get the disease where maintaining physical distance is difficult (Turk & McDermott, 2020). This also applies to older people who are cared for in nursing homes or other similar institutions, where uncontrolled and poor-quality services, including inadequate infection prevention and control, have resulted in the virus spreading and increasing mortality (Boodman & Branswell, 2020; Lloyd & Ebrahim et al., 2020).

 

Geriatric Population:

The geriatric population are considered to be more vulnerable to Covid-19, as the majority of geriatric people suffer from disabilities either related to age or due to other reasons. They may also be susceptible to the virus and serious illness due to a history of several comorbidities. Obesity, smoking, and male gender have all been linked to poorer outcomes (Huang et al., 2020) like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic lung disease (Turk & McDermott, 2020).

Apart from age and the prevalence of health issues, poorer socioeconomic level, living in densely crowded areas, restricted access to food, homelessness and poor sanitation has all been identified as traits that may put people with disabilities at risk for severe diseases (Turk & McDermott, 2020). There have been different reports of racial and ethnic inequalities, with stress on public health authorities to investigate the emergency responsiveness and preparedness during the pandemic.

 

Effect on Mental Health:

COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the mental health of people with disabilities due to increased isolation and uncertainty or worries about the pandemic. People with physical disabilities are also at a higher risk of developing mental illnesses.

Plans for rectifying the past mistakes:

Since 2020, there have been various studies conducted on a population of people who either contracted or died from the virus and have accumulated considerable information. But we have also learned that due to the mutating nature of the virus there is still much information we don’t know. Few countries and public health organizations made guidelines available in different formats that were accessible to people with disabilities, such as plain language, easy read formats, electronic screen readers, captioning, and sign language.

Governments, healthcare providers, and the general public must be made aware of the realities and challenges that people with disabilities go through, in order to develop and implement policies that meet their needs. Awareness programs and health promotion strategies can be used to educate the general public, health professionals, caregivers, and family members of patients with disabilities. Some measures such as ensuring the continuity of essential community-based social services, providing access to critical information, and developing adapted guidelines can be implemented. Official announcements should use sign language.

 

References:

Bezyak, J. L. et al. (2019) “Community participation and public transportation barriers experienced by people with disabilities,” Disability and Rehabilitation, pp. 1–9. DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2019.1590469.

Boodman E and Branswell H. (2020) ‘First Covid-19 outbreak in a US nursing home raises concerns’. Available at:  //www.statnews.com/2020/02/29/new-covid-19-death-raises-concerns-about-virus-spread-in-nursing-homes/

Courtenay, K. (2020) Covid-19: challenges for people with intellectual disability. BMJ. Apr 29;369: m1609. PMID: 32349992, DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m1609. Available at: //pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32349992/

Iyengar, V. (2020) Covid-19 and Rights of Persons with Disabilities in India | OHRH. Available at: //ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/covid-19-and-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-in-india/

Huang R., Zhu L., Xue L. Clinical findings of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Jiangsu province, China: a retrospective, multi-centre study. PLoS Neglected Trop Dis. 2020;14(5) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008280.

Lebrasseur, A. et al. (2021) “Impact of COVID-19 on people with physical disabilities: A rapid review,” Disability and Health Journal, 14(1), p. 101014. DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.101014.

This post was modified 2 years ago by suhasini.lanka
 
Posted : April 19, 2022 11:47 am
(@kamalpreet)
Posts: 69
Estimable Member
 

Pandemic has affected general population as well as high risk group.  It is worse for people with disabilities as they have unique challenges and stressors. Limited or reduced access to healthcare or medical supplies, higher level of social isolation due to non-availability of assistive technology which had further impacted the well –being of the person with disabilities and also caused other conditions such as dementia, heart diseases and other conditions. Therefore, there should be robust policies for the people with disabilities during pandemic.

Read here

//www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/research-disabilities

//www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00625-5/fulltext

 
Posted : April 21, 2022 9:10 am
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