New briefing on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on disabled people
29 January 2021
The Glasgow Centre for Population Health and Policy Scotland have developed a series of COVID-19 ‘micro briefings’ written in collaboration with expert partner agencies. They are intended to support a range of partners and decision makers by providing concise, accessible overviews of current evidence concerning complex and evolving issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today we have published the first in our series of micro briefings which has been written with the Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA) – a disabled people led organisation with over 5,000 members across Greater Glasgow. GDA provides a range of support services for disabled people including fully accessible learning, coaching, and events designed to connect disabled people with each other, with opportunities and with decision makers.
The briefing presents a range of evidence relating to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on disabled people.
It makes clear that a variety of mechanisms explain this including elevated clinical risk, the worsening of existing poverty and inequalities, barriers in accessing vital services and the disruption of vital health, social care and other essential services.
The sustained involvement of disabled people in designing pandemic recovery policy, practice and research at the local and national levels must be mainstreamed to ensure the effectiveness of public service responses and maximise the potential to ‘build back fairer’.
