Access to Health and Disability Services for New Zealanders With Impaired Vision During the COVID-19 Pandemic 2020–2022

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected access to health and social services globally, leading to delays in accessing appropriate care. However, while there is a growing base of research into service access for the general population, there remains scarce information on the implications of the pandemic on disabled people. This article describes issues with health and disability support access for people with impaired vision in Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa). Methods: Applying an Interpretive Description methodology, 62 interviews were conducted with disabled people; 10 of these individuals identified as having impaired vision. Findings were analyzed thematically for the entire group of 62, representing varied impairment groups, and then for the 10 who had impaired vision. Results: Five key themes arose from the interviews, including transportation difficulties, mental distress, loss of community, loss of physical contact and signals, and general loss of support. Participants identified that this loss of support occurred at multiple levels, meaning that the disability and healthcare system as a whole was ill-equipped to manage their needs. Participants reported a lag-time in accessing care, meaning that the effects of the pandemic are still felt due to a lack of available support and resources. Discussion: This article remains one of a few studies to look at the implications of the pandemic on access to health and disability services for those with impaired vision. It highlights that despite Aotearoa's good track record in managing the pandemic, groups were forgotten and marginalized by the collective response to managing COVID-19. Implications for Practitioners: Blindness professionals must be aware of the possible disadvantages and impacts of pandemics and other disasters on people with impaired vision and their access to health and disability services. Policymakers must include disabled people at the decision-making table so that the diverse needs of these populations are managed.

Systems Are Overstretched from the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Interpretive Description of Disabled People’s Access to Healthcare and Disability Support in New Zealand

“…Our findings affirm that disabled New Zealanders' access to healthcare and disability support services were negatively impacted by the pandemic, consistent with extant literature [8,11,13,[21][22][23]. Our study has revealed that, while policy decisions generally negatively impacted the healthcare and disability support of disabled individuals, some policies resulted in positive outcomes for disabled people.…”

“…However, the ongoing restrictions also significantly disrupted healthcare and support services, resulting in challenges for disabled people. For example, staff shortages were exacerbated by infection control measures, staff illness, and mandatory self-isolation periods, resulting in in-home support services being scaled back, disrupted, or even suspended, and many community services, such as day programmes and respite care were also negatively impacted [11][12][13].…”

“…"Through COVID, for two years, it would stress me out going there [GP practice] because of the mask situation and there were just too many rules to follow." (P42) Pandemic-related healthcare challenges were so significant for the Deaf community and vision-impaired participants that the findings have been analysed in two separate articles (see Roguski et al [13] and Good et al [11], respectively). Deaf participants raised a myriad of issues around accessing healthcare, which led many to opt out of accessing it except in emergency situations.…”

Older People’s Understandings and Experiences of Using Health and Social Care Services under COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions in Aotearoa, New Zealand

“…Tis included restrictions on the number of visitors in hospitals, minimizing everyday movement and contact, and halting the operation of nonessential services [13]. A handful of studies have discussed older people's experiences dealing with a lag time in accessing healthcare [20] and problems with waiting in long queues [21]. Common disadvantages older people experience include having coexisting health problems, having low social support, and low or lack of sufcient income [22].…”

Experiences of People with Visual Impairment Interacting with Others after the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan;

“…People with visual impairment are generally considered to have little social participation and social roles 9) . However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, things worsened as communities between people with visual impairment themselves were lost, 10) reducing their engagement with others in the long-term. In other words, in a prolonged pandemic, while people with sight were beginning to rejoin their communities and societies by adopting accommodative strategies against the pandemic, those with visual impairments continued to find it difficult to interact with others even under such accommodative strategies.…”