Effect of digital gap on virtual care in the time of COVID-19 pandemic: empirical evidence in Taiwan

Decent internet usage rates make Taiwan a case to succeed in virtual care practices during the pandemic. We investigate how internet usage rates across regions condition Taiwan's varieties, concerns, and expectations for virtual care. During the semi-lockdown, we fielded an online census of the managers of care programs for people with disabilities (PWDs). 70% of the PWDs care programs provide three to four virtual care types. Concerned about the PWDs' degeneration and their family caregivers' capacity, respondents expect empowerment of their programs. High internet usage rates facilitate more diversified virtual care, fewer concerns, and various expected assistance. © 2023 Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

Academic libraries' social media posts related to disabilities: A review of libraries' tweets in terms of their content and accessibility

Many academic libraries have active social media accounts, using them to promote content and provide timely information to their users. Social media can, however, present both potential opportunities and challenges for users with disabilities, both in terms of learning about a library's offerings, and being able to successfully access the full content of these posts. As such, this study focused on identifying and analyzing Twitter posts from academic libraries pertaining to disabilities over a five-year period (2017–2021). This analysis looked at basic descriptive information about these tweets as a whole, as well as more detailed examination of their content, including text, images, and accessibility considerations. Within the identified set of tweets, we found a wide variety of content promoted by libraries, and a seemingly strong impact of the pandemic on the tweets' contents. In terms of accessibility, we found a notable increase in use of alt text over the five-year period, but also important omissions within the provided alt text, and also areas for additional investigation in terms of language and images used in these posts. This work reveals insights into academic libraries' use of social media, and considerations for how academic libraries can approach social media posts moving forward, particularly for content pertaining to disabilities. • 982 tweets located pertaining to disabilities from academic libraries for 2017–21 • Tweets included a wide variety of content, with a notable impact by the pandemic. • Usage of alt text increased over time, but still sometimes omitted important details. • Additional research needed to learn about end-user preferences for this content [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Academic Librarianship is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The professional activity and economic situation of people with disabilities in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic

One of the most important activities of every human being is professional activity, but for people with disabilities the possibility to work has an additional dimension of social rehabilitation. Despite the existence of many forms of assistance and activities aimed at reducing the phenomenon of their exclusion from society, they still struggle with the problem of undertaking appropriate professional activity, with the COVID-19 pandemic adding to the already difficult situation. So what is the current professional activity and economic situation of people with disabilities? In the context of the research gap, attempts have been made to answer the research question: Has the COVID-19 pandemic led to a deterioration in the level of professional activity of people with disabilities and their situation? The main objective of the study was to assess the economic situation of people with disabilities and their professional activity at two different times -before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A research hypothesis was formulated, assuming that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the professional activity of people with disabilities and their economic situation. The article includes an analysis of the national literature on the subject, with an empirical part based on a secondary analysis of existing data. Descriptive statistics of the indicators of the tested variables were made together with an analysis of the normality of distributions using the Shapiro-Wilk test. An analysis with Student's t-tests and a two-factor analysis of variance in the 2x2 model were also performed. As a result of the statistical study, the research hypothesis was not confirmed.

Exposure to COVID-19 Infection and Mortality Rates Among People With Disabilities in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: With the delayed eradication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), people with disabilities, a socially vulnerable class of individuals, face aggravated hardships caused by a pause in support services and lack of care due to stricter social distancing policies combined with the challenges of their disabilities. Given this background, we aim to investigate COVID-19 infection and mortality rates among people with disabilities, who face heightened physical and mental health threats amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Gender, age, health insurance premiums, the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), the severity of the disability, and the type of disability were compared among people with disabilities who had been infected with or died from COVID-19 using the nationally representative National Health Insurance Service (NHIS)-COVID-19 database (DB). RESULTS: We found that the COVID-19 infection rate was higher among those with low income, those with severe disability, and those with "other" disabilities (ie, speech disabilities, hepatic dysfunction, respiratory dysfunction, facial disfigurement, intestinal fistular/urinary disability, epilepsy, intellectual disability, autistic disorder, and mental disorders). The mortality rate was markedly higher (ie, 15.90 times higher, odds ratio [OR]: 15.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.16 - 41.06) among people aged 80 years or older as compared with those aged 60 years or younger. The odds for mortality were 2.49 times higher (OR: 2.49, 95% CI: 1.33 - 4.64) among people with severe disabilities as compared with mild disabilities. CONCLUSION: Among people with disabilities, we found that COVID-19 infection rates differed according to income level, severity of the disability, and disability type, while the COVID-19 mortality rates differed according to age and severity of the disability.

Shared Mobility Opportunities and Their Computational Challenges for Improving Health-Related Quality of Life

Shared mobility has emerged in urban spaces as an alternative to owning and maintaining a vehicle, by allowing flexible and short-term mobility services at low costs. These mobility options act as promising sources of trips benefiting people in vulnerable groups and enabling them to access essential services such as healthcare and providing transport during emergency evacuations. Shared mobility services can also make the cities more sustainable and healthy for all inhabitants by reducing the number of circulating vehicles. Fewer vehicles in the urban traffic makes the air cleaner and the environment less noisy, reducing risks of respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases and improving the people's health-related quality of life. However, managing shared mobility services intensifies transport challenges. Amid these challenges are reducing operational costs and diminishing health hazards such as the ones posed by COVID-19. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A public health crisis is a disability rights crisis: Health inequality and ableism in the pandemic

Whether we identify as disabled or not, the pandemic has brought issues relevant to disability rights to the forefront of our minds. It is timelier than ever to develop an understanding of disability rights concerning the pandemic. This opinion piece describes disability challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. Person first language is not adhered to here, in line with conversations in the disability rights movement (Botha et al., 2021). It is important to note that in conveying disability experiences during this period, it is understood that no two experiences are the same. Similarly, disability is a broad term, and the pandemic may have produced differing needs across areas of disability, such as physical and mental health and intellectual disability. Our hope is in beginning a conversation around the intersections and nuances of these issues. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Clinical Psychology Forum is the property of British Psychological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Adoption of Artificial Intelligence Technologies by Often Marginalized Populations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has found its application in many aspects of our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has further allowed AI to play an increasingly important and beneficial role in our society, but it has also exposed the limitation of AI, particularly related to marginalized populations. This chapter first provides an overview of AI and equity pre-COVID, and then discusses what we know about AI during COVID-19. At the end, we conduct a systematic literature review to examine marginalized populations and their use of AI technologies during COVID-19. The populations examined in this review are children, older adults, people with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities (in a country or region), low-income, gender, or general marginalized populations. The results indicate a huge gap for research on the use, adoption, and perception of AI technologies by communities that have previously experienced inequities in AI and COVID-19. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Improving the social inclusion of people with disabilities in the remote workplace: Digital assistive technologies

Inclusive employment opportunities for individuals living with disabilities have been an ongoing issue in society, creating barriers and challenges for this community. Digital assistive technologies (DAT) are, and continue to be, helpful tools in aiding in this inclusivity, but they have not always been accessible to all. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, where online work became the "new normal", has bought this into sharp focus, giving individuals access and the ability to utilize different online tools that support individuals living with various disabilities in doing work. To better understand the current context concerning DATs and remote working for individuals living with disabilities, we conducted a scoping review in 2021/2022. We identified relevant papers that aided in identifying validated digital assistive technologies. Our study aims to continue supporting individuals living with disabilities to access the technology needed to join, or remain within, the workforce and work towards dismantling barriers that prevent this. © 2023 Owner/Author.

Brazilian parathletes represented in brazilian paralympic committee news: social distance in the COVID-19 pandemic / Para atletas brasileiros(as) retratados(as) nas notícias do comitê paralímpico brasileiro: distanciamento social na pandemia de COVID-19 / Paratletas brasileños representados en noticias del comité paralímpico brasileño: distancia social en la pandemia COVID-19

Este artigo buscou averiguar os impactos da pandemia de COVID-19 no percurso esportivo de Para atletas brasileiros(as) veiculados nas notícias do site do Comitê Paralímpico Brasileiro. Foram realizados o levantamento e a catalogação de notícias do site do Comitê Paralímpico Brasileiro e, na sequência, procedeu-se à técnica de análise temática de conteúdo das notícias. Evidenciamos os seguintes temas: incertezas quanto aos Jogos Paralímpicos 2020; saudades das relações interpessoais; aproximação com a família; aumento das interações virtuais; prática de exercícios físicos com orientações virtuais; preocupações com o peso corporal; dificuldades com o sono; falta de disposição para treinar em casa; e expectativas quanto ao retorno dos treinos presenciais. Distintas estratégias foram adotadas a fim de mitigar os impactos da pandemia no esporte paralímpico no país.

This article sought to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sporting route of For Brazilian athletes published in the news on the Brazilian Paralympic Committee website. A survey and cataloging of news from the website of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee were carried out and, subsequently, the technique of thematic analysis of news content was carried out. We highlight the following themes: uncertainties about the 2020 Paralympic Games; missing interpersonal relationships; closeness with the family; increase of virtual interactions; practice of physical exercises with virtual guidance; concerns about body weight; sleeping difficulties; lack of willingness to train at home; expectations about the return of in-person training. Different strategies were adopted in order to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic to Paralympic sports in the country.

Este artículo buscó investigar los impactos de la pandemia COVID-19 en la ruta deportiva de los deportistas brasileños publicados en las noticias del sitio web del Comité Paralímpico Brasileño. Se realizó un relevamiento y catalogación de noticias de la página web del Comité Paralímpico Brasileño y, posteriormente, se llevó a cabo la técnica de análisis temático de contenido informativo. Destacamos los siguientes temas: incertidumbres sobre los Juegos Paralímpicos 2020; falta de relaciones interpersonales; cercanía con la familia; aumento de interacciones virtuales; práctica de ejercicios físicos con guía virtual; preocupación por el peso corporal; dificultades con el sueño; falta de voluntad para entrenar en casa; expectativas sobre el regreso del entrenamiento presencial. Se adoptaron diferentes estrategias para mitigar el impacto de la pandemia en el deporte paralímpico del país.

COVID-19: Factors Predicting Depressive Symptoms in People Aging With Long-Term Physical Disabilities.

The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may be greater than that of the viral infection. This impact is likely greater for disadvantaged groups such as people with long-term physical disabilities (PwLTPD). This cross-sectional study used a multiple linear regression model to examine factors associated with depressive symptoms and to understand their relative importance during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The model explained 58% of the variance in depressive symptoms. Anxiety was the most important predictor, accounting for 8% of variance. Higher levels of anxiety, loneliness, and financial stress; prior diagnosis of depression; and non-Black race predicted a higher level of depressive symptoms in PwLTPD during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupational therapy practitioners should strategically acknowledge predictors of depression that cannot be modified and actively address those that can be modified through evidence-based interventions to improve depressive symptoms in PwLTPD.

Suicidal ideation among people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: prevalence and associated factors.

BACKGROUND: Evidence from pandemic and pre-pandemic studies conducted globally indicates that people with disabilities (PWDs) have a higher risk for suicidality. However, none of these studies has assessed suicidality among PWDs in Bangladesh. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with suicidal ideation among PWDs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. METHOD: Using a snowball sampling technique, a cross-sectional survey was conducted from February to April 2021 among PWDs from six districts in the northern region of Bangladesh. Information related to sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics, behavioural factors and suicidal ideation was collected. Chi-squared test and logistic regression were used to describe the data and explain the relationship of factors associated with suicidal ideation. RESULTS: The prevalence of COVID-19-related past-year suicidal ideation was 23.9%. The factors associated with suicidal ideation included: age above 35 years, being female, acquiring a disability later in life, lack of sleep and current substance use. In addition, higher education appeared to be a protective factor against suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlighted that PWDs had an increased risk of suicide; that is, one-fourth of them had past-year suicidal ideation. This may have been because of COVID-19-related restrictions and stressors. Thus, the government and policy makers need to pay more attention to developing effective suicide assessment, treatment and management strategies, especially for at-risk groups, to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Personas, the Pandemic, and Inclusive, Synthetic, Smart City Planning

In the era of COVID-19, planners, and more broadly, city administrators and policy makers, have learned to cope with the accelerated pace of change, the broad band of uncertainty, and the need for rapid decision-making strategies. In the context of ever more diverse communities and greater reliance on technology as an effective response to the social and public health challenges of the pandemic, "smart" cities harness distributed communication and service delivery technologies to enhance the quality of urban life. The voices of citizens from marginalized and under-served populations, such as older adults and people with disabilities, are vital to the development of inclusive smart cities. In this paper, expanding an inclusive policy design approach is proposed that uses `personas' to actively engage those citizens.

Being a Parent of Children with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Method Study of Health, Social Life, and Occupational Situation.

Parents of children with disabilities face challenges in their daily lives, but little is known about their experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the study was to explore the experiences of parents of children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Canada. Forty parents of children with disabilities from Quebec, Canada (mean [SD] age: 41.2 [6.7]; 93% women) were selected from the Ma Vie et la pandémie (MAVIPAN) study. All 40 parents completed the MAVIPAN online questionnaires including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing short 7-item scale (WEMWBS), Social Provisions Scale-10 item (SPS-10), and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). A multi-method analysis was used to summarize questionnaires and thematically explore parents' experiences. Parents reported deterioration in their mental (50.0%) and physical (27.5%) health, with moderate levels of depression, stress, and anxiety, yet moderately positive well-being. Additional experiences included reduction in available supports (71.4%) and feelings of social isolation (51.4%). Our results highlighted reduced mental and physical health, limited and modified access to certain services, and reduction of social supports for some parents of children with disabilities. Health professionals, policymakers, and governments should be mindful of these challenges experienced by parents of children with disabilities.

Why 'cultures of care'?

Also embedded in these institutional cultures were ideas about the responsibility for self-care, which often failed to recognise the impact of infrastructures of care on the "capacity to care" for the self (E. R. Power, [37]). Academic discussions of care have stressed the complexity of the concept of care (Fisher & Tronto, [13]), and the difficulty of defining care "needs" and "good care" (Engster, [11];Held, [20];J. Tronto, [55]). Caring for those who care: Towards a more expansive understanding of "cultures of care" in laboratory animal facilities. The Covid "lockdowns" impacted the informal "cultures of care" within families and communities through significant reductions in, or withdrawal of, services providing care or benefits enabling care, for (amongst others) children, people with learning difficulties and people with physical disabilities, or who are frail. [Extracted from the article]

QUALITY OF LIFE AND LIFE SATISFACTION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DURING FORCED SOCIAL DISTANCING AND HOME CONFINEMENT DERIVED FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This study aimed to analyze the quality of life and life satisfaction of people with disabilities in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine and Lithuania. There were total 546 participants aged 16-84 years from Lithuania and Ukraine. The respondents completed the authors' questionnaire and the Subjective Happiness Scale to measure quality of life, subjective happiness, and life satisfaction. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess the associations between quality of life, subjective happiness, and life satisfaction. The results demonstrate the interrelation between the constructs measured, when subjectively evaluated quality of life during quarantine was associated with satisfaction within various life spheres, and moderately associated with subjective happiness. In conclusion, our study showed the interdependence between quality of life, subjective happiness and life satisfaction, allowing manipulation of separate components to induce change in other not only in scientific rapport, but also in physical and mental health orientated preventative actions to improve the well-being for people with disabilities. © 2022, Specialusis Ugdymas. All Rights Reserved.

Barriers for Women with Disabilities to Start up – Some Policy Recommendations

According to statistics, there are about 8 million people with disabilities in Vietnam today, of which women account for 56% and 60% are of working age. In recent years, policies to support people with disabilities have been developed significantly. Therefore, many people with disabilities confidently and boldly start a business, or set up production, business and service establishments on their own, which not only takes care of their families' lives but also generates jobs and income for the community. By 2022, the whole country has nearly 700 production facilities by wounded, sick soldiers and disabled people, creating jobs for over 40,000 workers, ensuring an average income of 5-7 million VND/person/month1. In addition, many people with disabilities develop a household economy that brings high economic efficiency, contributing to the local budget. According to the General Statistics Office, establishments that are members of the Business Association of War Invalids and Disabled Persons contribute to the state budget of over 500 billion VND annually. However, the number of production and business establishments by women with disabilities is small. According to statistics from the Vietnam Association of People with Disabilities in 2020, women with disabilities make up 3-5% of the total number of people with disabilities participating in the wave of start-ups2. People with disabilities in general and women with disabilities in particular face many difficulties and barriers to starting their own businesses, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The obstacles stem from themselves and their families, such as low self-esteem, lack of knowledge and experience, and limitations in using public works, services, and educational services. The barrier from society is that the COVID-19 crisis has entailed a gap in the unemployment rate to the detriment of women. The unemployment rate has increased because businesses have to partially or completely rescind operations. The barriers from stigma, discrimination in recruitment, difficulties in accessing financial services, accessing skills training courses, equipping knowledge, improving professional qualifications, etc. .. So, when the COVID-19 epidemic is gradually controlled and society stabilizes under normal conditions, what solutions are needed from the disabled woman herself, from the state and the community to support women with disabilities to start their own businesses to enhance their economic power and affirm the capacity and position of Vietnamese women. © 2022 Bangladesh Institute of Legal Development. All rights reserved.

Direct Support Professional and Frontline Supervisor Perspectives on Work-Life in a Pandemic

Direct support professionals (DSPs) and frontline supervisors (FLSs) play an invaluable role in delivering home and community-based services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). DSPs provide support with employment, community living, developing social connections, health and well-being, and many other areas. FLSs' primary responsibility is to provide direction and guidance to DSPs in their work;however, they also frequently provide direct support to people with IDD. This workforce has been in crisis with high turnover and vacancy which threaten the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in their communities. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already fraught situation. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Development of Smart Chatbot Using Artificial Intelligence in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic

The invention of the Coronavirus (nCOV-19), which has turn out to be a worldwide pandemic has affected big range of humans of just about all age companies and socio-demographic popularity in the global. It was not only a pandemic with physical challenges, it brought emotional and mental challenges with itself (WHO Health Alert brings COVID-19 facts to billions via WhatsApp.). People were/are confused to what to do or how to react to the situation, which news to believe in, which not to (www.messengerpeople.com ;523: Origin is unreachable.). So, we came up with an idea of a voice automated chatbot, which would bring a better version of chatbot to the people. It is designed in such a way that people with disabilities can also use it because of the speech control. Our team also decided to bring the accurate information from the professionals to the very devices of the people by feeding in the updated information in the code on a regular basis. Unlike doctors our Botch would provide precise information 24/7 and would also prevent people from leaving their homes in this hour of tragedy. We have made sure that our chatbot is interactive enough so that the users will not find it uncomfortable to use a new app for their health assistance (Jadhav KP, Thorat SA, Toward designing conversational agent systems. In Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing. Springer: Berlin, Germany, 2020). It is high time we have been confused by the vast information available, half of them are hardly true. So, we have tried to provide our users with the most precise information available. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.