Community and Social Participation Among People with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

2:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Presenter(s)

Jessica Kersey

Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Illinois at Chicago, United States

Slides Slides and Audio
Elizabeth R. Skidmore, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, FACRM

Professor
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Carolyn Baum, PhD, OTR, FAOTA

Professor
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Joy M. Hammel, PhD, OTR/L

Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Emily Kringle, PhD, OTR/L

Assistant Professor
University of Minnesota
Hopkins, Minnesota, United States
Tina Harris

Peer Mentor
University of Pittsburgh
Sular C. GORDON, CRFT

ENGAGE PROJECT team member
Washington University STL
St. Louis, Missouri, United States

There is evidence to suggest that COVID-19 has exacerbated health and social disparities among people with disabilities, but there is insufficient understanding of the causes of these disparities and their impact on everyday community and social participation that is needed to guide intervention development and delivery. In this symposium, we will present on a series of studies to explore disparities in community participation. First, we present an analysis of Census data to describe disparities in community participation among people with disabilities and the social determinants of health associated with outcomes. Next, we present results of focus groups designed to describe the, experiences of people with disabilities with social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, we propose an adapted intervention to address social and community participation outcomes among people with disabilities.

Learning Objectives:

identify changes in the prevalence of disability throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
describe perceived barriers and supports to community participation for people with disabilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
describe the ENGAGE intervention and how it can be applied to pandemic-related community participation challenges
Describe participatory methods for inclusion of people with disabilities into intervention design, delivery, and testing