Journal Article

The objective of this scoping review was to systematically identify the environmental factors that impacted people with disability in the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors found that the social determinants of health for people with disability were not adequately considered in the acute phase of infection prevention at the population level.

This article in Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation describes the self-reported impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). In interviews with more than 350 adults with traumatic SCI, the authors found that the COVID-19 pandemic had multiple negative impacts. Of particular importance were reduced access to healthcare and declines in quality and stability of attendant care, with greater reliance on family.

This article in May 2023 issue of Work and Occupations draws on separate strands of research documenting the psychological consequences of (a) precarious employment and other challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) ableism, incorporating both into an examination of disability-based differences in the joint significance of discrimination and work precarity during the pandemic for mental health.

This article in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (APMR) examines the prevalence, severity, and correlates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) assessed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study uses data from the TBI Model Systems Database, finding the prevalence, severity, and correlates of mental health conditions were similar before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on societal participation in people with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

In this article in Disability and Health Journal, researchers used data from the American Community Survey from 2008 to 2020 and the Current Population Survey over May 2020 to April 2022 period to compare people with and without disabilities in the expansion of telework as the pandemic began, and to discuss the evolution of telework during the pandemic. While workers with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to telework before the pandemic, they were less likely to telework during the pandemic. The occupational distribution accounts for most of this difference.

This Health Affairs datawatch article uses health plan data to calculate excess mortality rates for Medicaid home and community-based services recipients during March-December 2020. For younger recipients, excess mortality was 7.4 times  that of other community-dwelling Medicaid beneficiaries and 26.6 times that of the general population. As a proportion of expected mortality, excess mortality rates for older recipients and nursing home residents were comparable.

This article from Frontiers in Psychology explores in-depth the experiences and reflections of seven practicing therapists, on the impact of telehealth and remotely delivered physical therapy/physiotherapy (telePT) on the operationalization of relationship-based, family-centered methods into therapy. In response to the throttling of children’s therapy programs precipitated by COVID-19 shutdowns, interest in the use of telehealth has increased among service providers at both the clinical and administrative levels.

This journal article used data from the American Community Survey to compare people with and without disabilities in the expansion of telework as the pandemic began, and the evolution of telework during the pandemic. The authors concluded that many people with disabilities benefit from working at home, and the pandemic has increased employer acceptance of telework, but the current occupational distribution limits this potential. Tighter labor markets during the recovery offer hope that employers will increasingly hire people with disabilities in both telework and non-telework jobs.

This article in the journal Work and Occupations examines disability-based differences in the joint significance of discrimination and work precarity during the pandemic for mental health. Survey analysis found that precarious employment, greater discimination, and disability independently predict depressive symptoms. Further, in the context of greater discrimination, more precarious employment is found to have greater significance for people with disabilities compared to those who are not currently disabled.