Health Risks and Consequences of a COVID-19 Infection for People with Disabilities: Scoping Review and Descriptive Thematic Analysis

Sureshkumar Kamalakannan, Sutanuka Bhattacharjya, Yelena Bogdanova, Christina Papadimitriou, Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla, Jacob Bentley, Tiago S. Jesus and International Networking Group of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Refugee Empowerment Task Force
Additional contact information
Sureshkumar Kamalakannan: Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), South Asia Centre for Disability Inclusive Development and Research (SACDIR), Indian Institute of Public Health-Hyderabad (IIPH-H), Hyderabad 500 033, India
Sutanuka Bhattacharjya: Department of Occupational Therapy, Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
Yelena Bogdanova: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
Christina Papadimitriou: Departments of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309-4452, USA
Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla: IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48903 Bilbao, Spain
Jacob Bentley: Department of Clinical Psychology, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA 98119, USA
Tiago S. Jesus: Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM) & WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Workforce Policy and Planning, Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, NOVA University of Lisbon, 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal
International Networking Group of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Refugee Empowerment Task Force: Membership of the Refugee Empowerment Task Force, International Networking Group of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine is provided in the Author Contributions.

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: This study aims to synthesize the literature on any disproportionate health risks or consequences of a COVID-19 infection for people with disabilities. Scoping review with a descriptive thematic analysis was carried out. Up to mid-September 2020, seven scientific databases and three preprint servers were searched to identify empirical or perspective papers. Snowballing searches and expert’ consultations also took place. Two independent reviewers were used for the screenings and data extractions. Of 1027 references, 58 were included, 15 of which were empirical articles. The thematic analysis showed that: (1) People with disabilities living in residential or long-term care facilities were more likely to have greater infection rates; (2) Intersecting mediators of greater infection risks were multiple (e.g., lack of accessible information); (3) People with disabilities often face greater health problems when infected; and (4) Unethical disadvantages in the rationing of lifesaving and critical care can be experienced by people with disabilities. Conclusions: Beyond any health-related vulnerabilities (e.g., comorbidity rates), multiple yet modifiable environmental factors can provide disproportionate health risks and consequences of a COVID-19 infection for people with disabilities. Public health and policy measures must prevent or reduce modifiable environmental risks.

Keywords: COVID-19; health equity; disabled persons; vulnerable populations; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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