Disabled people's experiences accessing healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.
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Date
2023-04-06
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central
Rights
(c) The author/s
CC BY
CC BY
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.
Description
Keywords
COVID-19, Consumer voice, Disability, Experiences, Healthcare, Healthcare access, Qualitative methods, Scoping review, Humans, Pandemics, COVID-19, Health Services Accessibility, Health Services, Disabled Persons
Citation
McBride-Henry K, Nazari Orakani S, Good G, Roguski M, Officer TN. (2023). Disabled people's experiences accessing healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.. BMC Health Serv Res. 23. 1. (pp. 346-).