Social, Economic and Overall Health Impacts of COVID-19 on People Living with Disabilities in King County, WA

Nicole Turcheti (), Amy A. Laurent, Christina Delgado, Kayla Sainati, Kris Johnson and Eva Y. Wong
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Nicole Turcheti: Public Health—Seattle & King County, 401 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
Amy A. Laurent: Public Health—Seattle & King County, 401 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
Christina Delgado: Public Health—Seattle & King County, 401 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
Kayla Sainati: Disability Empowerment Center, 1401 E Jefferson St, Seattle, WA 98122, USA
Kris Johnson: Public Health—Seattle & King County, 401 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
Eva Y. Wong: Public Health—Seattle & King County, 401 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated mitigation measures to reduce the spread of disease affected the social, economic, and overall health of individuals. Quantitative administrative datasets typically did not contain demographic information that allowed for reporting or analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on people living with disabilities. Understanding the experiences of this population during the pandemic can inform the design of public health responses that are more robust and better connected to community. This paper describes a qualitative participatory study with a diverse sample of people living with disabilities in King County, WA. Through 2 listening sessions and 35 semi-structured interviews, it examines what impacts COVID-19 brought for people living with disabilities; elucidates the supports that were helpful in addressing COVID-19 impacts; examines inequities faced by the disability community; and sheds light on how to engage with this community to inform the public health emergency response. The process, protocols, findings, and lessons learned are replicable by other local health departments and could be incorporated as part of routine data collection and considered for future public health emergencies.

Keywords: COVID-19; health disparities; people living with disabilities; health equity; social; economic; qualitative study; community engagement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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