Report/Research Brief

The brief outlines the benefits and drawbacks of remote work for people with disabilities, with the hopes of influencing policy in individual workplaces and on local, state and federal levels, blending together three previous publications from the Disability Inclusive Employment Policy RRTC, from the Disability and Health Journal, the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, and the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

This plain-language brief summarizes a study of the very high number of deaths from COVID-19 among people receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS) who lived in nursing homes. The brief defines excess mortality and describes the studies findings, including graphics comparing mortality rates for both younger and older LTSS receipients, compared to the general population. The brief also explains why these rates may be higher, including individual factors and barriers to services and supports.

In this working paper, researchers evaluated employment trends for people with and without disabilities over the course of the COVID-19 recession and subsequent employment recovery, both overall and by occupational category (essential, non-essential, teleworkable, non-teleworkable, frontline, nonfrontline) using data from the nationally representative Current Population Survey. As the COVID-19 recession began in the second quarter of 2020, people with disabilities experienced employment losses that were proportionately similar to those experienced by people without disabilities.

This brief report presents a 24-month update from a survey of more than 2,600 direct support professionals (DSPs) and frontline supervisors who support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to live independently in the community. The survey finds that, while vaccination rates are increasing, participants report declines in physical and mental health.

This brief describes barriers to and opportunities for telehealth for people with disabilities, as well as potential national and state policies to make telehealth more accessible, functional, and supportive beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

This full issue of Frontline Initiative is dedicated to stories by and for direct support professionals (DSPs) as they navigate longer hours, inadequate pay, grief stemming from the death of colleagues, and other fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Published in collaboration with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP).

This research brief describes the result of a survey of Centers for Independent Living to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their ability to provide services to people transitioning from an institutional setting to living in the community. 

This article highlights a research report looks into social isolation and loneliness among people with disabilities during COVID lockdowns. This data was collected in 2021, one year into the pandemic, but before vaccine roll-out. The authors compare this post-COVID to previously collected data pre-COVID to see what has changed. The previous report is available at https://www.umt.edu/rural-institute/rtc/stories/11.29.21-social-isolatio...

This rapid research review summarizes current barriers the COVID-19 pandemic created for people with disabilities in addition to what they are already experiencing.

This report provides an analysis of data to better understand where cases and deaths are rising in nursing homes as of August 8 2021. Among the findings: COVID-19 cases among residents and staff are on the rise in nursing homes with the steepest increases in urban areas and in the South and Midwest. Disabled people are disproportionately overrepresented in the resident populations of unsafe congregate settings, such as nursing homes. Vaccination rates across both residents and staff in nursing homes have stagnated.