Disabled people's experiences accessing healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.
BMC Health Serv Res
; 23(1): 346, 2023 Apr 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2271488
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Disruptions to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic are well-recognised problems. However, a dearth of research exists on disabled people's experiences with accessing these services. A scoping review was undertaken to identify and explore research on the experience of disabled people in accessing healthcare services between 2020 and 6 February 2023.METHODS:
PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and OVID were employed to search for research that included the voice of disabled people, or their parents or caregivers. Over two distinct phases, a total of 2,201 articles were reviewed according to article titles, keywords, and abstracts. Eighty-one studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria; these were reviewed in full.RESULTS:
Eighteen studies specifically described the experiences of accessing healthcare or disability services, and sixty-three raised healthcare challenges as a secondary consideration. Many disabled people struggled to access healthcare services and felt they were invisible; as a result, individuals' mental health was negatively affected. Disabled people with compounding vulnerabilities were at the most risk of experiencing a lack of healthcare access.CONCLUSIONS:
There is an urgent need for research and policy that is responsive to disabled people's access to healthcare during the pandemic; currently many health policies are 'disability-blind' and exclude these members of the global community. Furthermore, to assist in creating disability-responsive research, funding needs to prioritise researchers within the disabled community.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Disabled Persons
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Reviews
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Health Serv Res
Journal subject:
Health Services Research
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12913-023-09336-4
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