What was the community support offered to people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil? A pilot study as part of a global survey.

Abstract

Background: The COVID 19 pandemic has imposed challenges on the world, requiring strict biosecurity measures. Thus, community supports are of great importance for coping with the pandemic for people with disabilities. We aimed to identify and analyze community supports for people with disabilities during the pandemic in Brazil. Methods: Participants with disabilities or related to people with disabilities, including professionals of health care, answered an electronic form about the community supports offered during the pandemic, using categorical data. Results: Participated 105 individuals. It was found that the majority reported that people with disabilities did not have available accessible screening for COVID-19, nor had facilities accessible for quarantine or updates about the pandemic. Further on, did not have home care from personal support workers, home care nurses or caregivers, provision of personal protective equipment, nor online medical care, online educational support, personal technical equipment or delivery services available. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the dire situation to access health and community services in Brazil. The findings highlight and give more visibility to the great demand that this population still has in Brazil and enables targeted and effective social actions for the population with disabilities during and after pandemic period, enabling better health and social care for them, not only for Brazil, but also for other developing countries.