Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to healthcare among people with disabilities: evidence from six low- and middle-income countries

International Journal for Equity in Health

Research

Lopita Huq¹  Rifat Shahpar Khan¹  Vu Quynh Mai²  Luong Anh Ngoc³  Zeynep Ilkkursun⁴  Ceren Acarturk⁴  Shailaja Tetali⁵  Nanda Kishore Kannuri⁵  Xanthe Hunt⁶  Shaffa Hameed⁷  Tom Shakespeare⁷  Hannah Kuper⁷  Lena Morgon Banks⁷  Tracey Smythe⁸  John Ganle⁹ 

[1] BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, BRAC University, Dakar, Bangladesh;Center for Population Health Science, Hanoi University of Public Health, Hanoi, Viet Nam;Center for Training and Research on Substance Abuse - HIV, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Viet Nam;Department of Psychology, Koc University, Istanbul, Türkiye;Indian Institute of Public Health-Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India;Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Room 4009, Education Building, Cape Town, South Africa;International Centre for Evidence on Disability, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK;International Centre for Evidence on Disability, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK;Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa;School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;

关键词: COVID-19;    Pandemic;    People with disabilities;    Inclusive healthcare;    Lockdown;    Healthcare access;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-023-01989-1

 received in 2022-10-13, accepted in 2023-08-14,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe pandemic has placed considerable strain on health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), leading to reductions in the availability of routine health services. Emerging evidence suggests that people with disabilities have encountered marked challenges in accessing healthcare services and supports in the context of the pandemic. Further research is needed to explore specific barriers to accessing healthcare during the pandemic, and any strategies that promoted continued access to health services in LMICs where the vast majority of people with disabilities live.MethodsQualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with persons with disabilities in Ghana, Zimbabwe, Viet Nam, Türkiye (Syrian refugees), Bangladesh, and India as part of a larger project exploring the experiences of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and their inclusion in government response activities. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsThis research found that people with disabilities in six countries - representing a diverse geographic spread, with different health systems and COVID-19 responses - all experienced additional difficulties accessing healthcare during the pandemic. Key barriers to accessing healthcare during the pandemic included changes in availability of services due to systems restructuring, difficulty affording care due to the economic impacts of the pandemic, fear of contracting coronavirus, and a lack of human support to enable care-seeking.ConclusionThese barriers ultimately led to decreased utilisation of services which, in turn, negatively impacted their health and wellbeing. However, we also found that certain factors, including active and engaged Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) played a role in reducing some of the impact of pandemic-related healthcare access barriers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023