Disabled people: The social impact of Coronavirus
Achieve News • March 2021
Everyone’s experience of COVID -19 has been different but what is certain is that everyone has been affected!
Whether it has been the impact of social distancing, wearing a mask, or coping with lockdown restrictions, we have all had to make and accept change. But what if you have a disability, has the impact been different?
In September 2020, over 8 in 10 disabled people compared with around 7 in 10 non-disabled people said they were “very worried” or “somewhat worried” about the effect that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was having on their life.
It didn’t seem to matter where they lived. The level of worry (“very worried” or “somewhat worried”) reported by disabled people was similar; in a local lockdown area (81%) compared with those who were not (84%).
“You don’t know when it’s going to go back to what we know as normal. It makes you a bit down, that you can’t do what you want to do when you want to do it.”
Disabled people stated that the coronavirus affected their life in terms of:
- Well-being (62% for disabled people, compared with 42% for non-disabled people)
- Health (28% compared with 7%)
- Access to groceries, medication, and essentials (31% compared with 12%)
- Relationships (30% compared with 21%)
The overall well-being of disabled people remained poorer in September 2020 compared with a similar period prior to the coronavirus pandemic; almost half (47%) of disabled people reported high anxiety (a score of 6 out of 10 or higher) in September 2020 compared with less than a third (29%) of non-disabled people.
Disabled people said that the coronavirus is affecting their well-being because:
- It makes their mental health worse (41% for disabled people and 20% for non-disabled people)
- They are feeling lonely (45% and 32%)
- They spend too much time alone (40% and 29%)
- They feel like a burden on others (24% and 8%)
- They have no one to talk to about their worries (24% and 12%)
“Once we came out of shielding, I thought, ‘That’s good, we can live again. but then we were told to go back into shielding even if we had the vaccine.”
Add into the mix that some disabled people have a condition or underlying illness that may make them at higher risk of catching the virus or fighting infection they reported a lower than average anxiety level (4.7 out of 10.0). Whilst disabled people without a higher risk condition reported (5.5 out of 10.0).
Disabled people were also less likely than non-disabled people to have socialised within large groups.
Around 1 in 20 (5%) disabled people reported that the maximum number of non-household members that they had socialised with at the same time did not exceed five people, compared with around 1 in 10 (9%) of non-disabled people.
Whilst 1 in 3 disabled people (32%) reported they had not met up with anyone in the last seven days, compared with around one-quarter of non-disabled people (23%).
Survey
Considering the above, the BBC is now trying to reach as many people as possible to get the biggest, most detailed picture they can on how COVID-19 has affected disabled people.
The survey is anonymous but if you also want to share your experience, please email ruth.clegg@bbc.co.uk.
She is the BBC’s disability news producer and will get back in touch.
Please put Covidsurvey as the subject.
There is a regular version and an easy read version of the survey, so choose the one you are most comfortable with.
