Social support and living during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by persons with disabilities: a qualitative study in Munich

Abstract

The aim of this study is to better understand how COVID-19 risk and pandemic rules have impacted people with disabilities’ access to social support, daily life, and participation in the society in Munich. Data included interviews with fifteen people with disabilities and nine experts. The content analysis yielded five themes: prevention of COVID-19 infection and compliance with regulations; impact on daily life; access to healthcare; social support; and social inclusion. As long as there was continuous social support, people with disabilities were able to adapt to the new restrictions and regulations during the pandemic, despite the fact that the regulations were not adapted to their needs. In addition, lack of Internet access made it difficult to access healthcare, which led to social isolation and exclusion. The study shows that social support for people with disabilities should not be interrupted in times of crisis but should be continued more intensively.

Points of interest

• The COVID-19 pandemic in Munich has significantly reduced the inclusion of people with disabilities in society.

• Even cities, with relatively strong social service systems, such as Munich, may be unable to support people with disabilities in times of crisis if plans ensuring the continuity of the assistance mechanisms are not in place.

• The disturbance in social support has had a major negative impact on people with disabilities’ lifestyles and health status in Munich.

• The amount of social support received during a health crisis determines people’s social inclusion or exclusion. Therefore, social supports for people with disabilites must be expanded to include everyone in need and all areas of need, while also planning for future crises.

Keywords:

• Disabilities
• COVID-19
• community participation
• daily life
• qualitative study

Acknowledgments

We want to thank to research group and all participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The SonarGlobal work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 825671.