Lockdown-Related Disparities Experienced by People with Disabilities during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review with Thematic Analysis

Abstract

People with disabilities may be disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We synthesize the literature on broader health and social impacts on people with disabilities arising from lockdown-related measures. Methods: Scoping review with thematic analysis. Up to mid-September 2020, seven scientific databases and three pre-print servers were searched to identify empirical or perspective papers addressing lockdown-related disparities experienced by people with disabilities. Snowballing searches and experts’ consultation also occurred. Two independent reviewers took eligibility decisions and performed data extractions. Results: Out of 1026 unique references, 85 addressed lockdown-related disparities experienced by people with disabilities. Ten primary and two central themes were identified: (1) Disrupted access to healthcare (other than for COVID-19); (2) Reduced physical activity leading to health and functional decline; (3) From physical distance and inactivity to social isolation and loneliness; (4) Disruption of personal assistance and community support networks; (5) Children with disabilities disproportionally affected by school closures; (6) Psychological consequences of disrupted routines, activities, and support; (7) Family and informal caregiver burden and stress; (8) Risks of maltreatment, violence, and self-harm; (9) Reduced employment and/or income exacerbating disparities; and (10) Digital divide in access to health, education, and support services. Lack of disability-inclusive response and emergency preparedness and structural, pre-pandemic disparities were the central themes. Conclusions: Lockdown-related measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic can disproportionally affect people with disabilities with broader impact on their health and social grounds. Lack of disability-inclusive response and emergency preparedness and pre-pandemic disparities created structural disadvantages, exacerbated during the pandemic. Both structural disparities and their pandemic ramifications require the development and implementation of disability-inclusive public health and policy measures.

Predicting depression and anxiety among adults with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“…Consistent with our hypotheses and prior research (Lund et al, 2020; Pettinicchio et al, 2021), social isolation, disability-related stigma, worries about contracting COVID-19, younger age, and physical pain were significant predictors of both depression and anxiety symptoms, and having a prepandemic mental health condition and difficulty accessing basic supplies were significantly associated with depression symptoms. Also, consistent with evidence indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly stressful for people with disabilities with high support needs due to disruptions in formal and informal caregiving and support networks (Jesus et al, 2021), participants who identified as having multiple disabilities reported higher anxiety symptoms.…”

Stress Impact of COVID-19 Sports Restrictions on Disabled Athletes

“…Overall, people with disabilities commonly experience social participation disparities compared to people without disabilities. For this reason, they are a socially vulnerable (not implicitly vulnerable) and marginalized group [13], whose social participation may be disproportionately affected by lockdown-related measures [14]. Additionally, the abrupt interruption of disabled athletes' daily routines, life-altering events and stay-at-home orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic may overwhelm their individual ability to cope and increase anxiety, fear and negative emotions [15,16].…”

Employment related COVID-19 exposure risk among disabled people in the UK

“…When one also considers the effects of the pandemic and lockdown on other aspects of disabled people’s lives, for example disrupted access to healthcare, personal assistance and community networks ( Jesus et al, 2021 ), it is clear that disabled people have suffered a particularly raw deal compared to the non-disabled population.…”