Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, financial worries, and perceived organizational support among people living with disabilities in Canada.
Monique A M Gignac, Faraz V Shahidi, Arif Jetha and 5 others
PMID 34246591WHAT IT FOUND
Workers with combined physical and mental disabilities reported the most concern about health and finances and the least support.
However, these differences disappeared once job stress and unmet accommodation needs were considered. Employment conditions, not just disability status, drive these perceptions.
Key findings
01Workers with both physical and mental health disabilities reported significantly more concerns about health and finances, and less perceived organizational support, than those with no disability.
02When adjusted for employment conditions like job stress and unmet accommodation needs, the association between disability group and COVID-19 perceptions was largely no longer significant, except for physical disability and health concerns.
03Workers with disabilities reported lower income, less job control, more stress, and higher rates of perceived job lock compared to workers with no disability.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if disability causes these perceptions or if other factors are responsible. The sample was more highly educated than the general Canadian population, which may limit generalizability to lower-income or less-educated workers. Only employed individuals were included, excluding those who lost their jobs or could not work, which may understate the pandemic's negative impact on people with disabilities. The response rate was 26.5%, which introduces potential selection bias.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare related to this research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that disability type itself is the primary driver of pandemic-related anxiety and lack of support. The study shows that once you account for job stress, unmet accommodation needs, and income, the disability group differences largely disappear. The problem lies in the working conditions, not just the diagnosis.