COVID-19 and Disability Services in Upstate New York: A Survey of Disability Organizations
Start Date
21-6-2021 10:55 AM
End Date
21-6-2021 11:40 AM
Topic
Community Engagement + Community Anchor Institutions
Session Chair
Rosie Love
Abstract
People with disability, who represent 1 in 4 adults in the U.S., experience a number of health disparities. These disparities have been exacerbated by the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID-19). Individuals with disability may rely on services from organizations for support, and anecdotal evidence suggests that these services have been interrupted by COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to understand changes in service provision in a number of categories, changes in organizational priorities related to COVID-19, and the information needs of New York State (NYS) disability organizations. We hypothesized that disability services would decrease and that more services would be offered remotely during COVID-19 compared to prior to COVID-19. Methods We conducted a survey of NYS disability organizations, contacting individuals at those organizations via phone, email, and listserv. The survey was developed by the research team and included questions about services offered prior to COVID-19 versus during COVID-19, as well as additional precautions, health information, and organizational priorities. Disability services assessed in the survey included advocacy, caregiver, education, emergency/crisis services, health promotion programing, mental health, and recreational services, among others. The survey was conducted from August to December 2020. Descriptive analyses and paired sample t-test were conducted to compare service provision prior to and during COVID-19. Significance was set a priori at an alpha level of 0.05. Results Fifty-three respondent completed the survey from twenty-two counties in NYS. Organizations represented were of varied size and served a broad range of populations. The majority of organizations indicated that staff and clients had been impacted by COVID-19 positive cases. Overall, there were significantly fewer disability services offered during COVID-19 compared to prior to COVID-19. In addition, there was a significant change to remote disability services during COVID-19. Several disability services (health promotion, emergency/crisis, and recreational services) were no longer offered by organizations during COVID-19 that had been offered previously, while at the same time some services were initiated by organizations during the pandemic. Discussion/Conclusions As hypothesized, disability services decreased during COVID-19, and more services were offered remotely. The resulting impact of this change on health disparities experienced by people with disability is not yet clear, and these results represent a valuable starting point for understanding that impact. In addition, the finding that some services were no longer offered, while others were initiated, warrants further investigation. Further research on this topic utilizing clear definitions and investigating the changes in specific services would be valuable, especially related to the impact for people with disability in rural areas and other instances where alternatives might not be available.
Author Bio
(Presenter)
Jeremy French-Lawyer is an Instructor in the SUNY Upstate Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) department, and manages the Disability and Health Research Team. As the Instructional Design and Evaluation Manager, she focuses on the incorporation of disability content into medical education, as well as related evaluation and research. In her work she uses systems-based thinking to address health disparities. Ms. French-Lawyer has been involved in the development of the Disability Integration Toolkit (DIT) since its initiation in 2017. Through collaboration with the Association of Academic Physiatrists and partners at several academic institutions, the DIT promotes the integration of disability content in medical school curriculum using active learning tools and principles of adult education. Ms. French-Lawyer’s work has included instructional design and curriculum development, along with managing submissions, the peer review process for the DIT, and sustainability planning for the DIT. Recently, Ms. French-Lawyer and her team redesigned the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Summer Experience which she co-coordinates. This program is an eight-week clinical externship and educational experience for rising second year medical students. She leads the educational activities for the program and assists in the facilitation of journal club for PMR residents that focuses on critical evaluation of research. In addition to her work in education and instructional design, Jeremy’s publication history includes systematic search and reviews related to disability content in medical education and health information seeking. She is involved in several research and evaluation projects, including evaluation and translational research for the Disability Research and Dissemination Center. Recently, her work has also included the impact of COVID-19 on disability services and related topics in collaboration with the NYSDOH Disability and Health Program.
Katherine D. Goss, MPH currently works as a Disability and Health Senior Researcher with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Ms. Goss manages the Disability and Health Research (DHR) Team, which employs a variety of research methodologies to better understand healthcare experiences and disparities among people with disability (PWD). As an Instructor with the Department of PMR, she also contributes to resident and medical student educational initiatives, focusing on the importance of critical appraisal of research and health information related to caring for PWD. Recently, Ms. Goss and the DHR team have focused on differences in health outcomes among PWD following diagnosis of COVID-19, highlighting adverse outcomes of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). Other lines of research include differences in outcomes following trauma care for patients with pre-existing disability, opioid use and pain experiences among PWD, and reproductive health experiences among women with functional limitation. Ms. Goss also works closely with SUNY Upstate PMR clinical staff on departmental quality improvement projects and facilitates a monthly journal club with PMR residents focused on research methodology. Ms. Goss coordinates the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Summer Experience (PMR-SE), an eight-week clinical externship and educational program for rising second year medical students. The PMR-SE program offers students exposure to rehabilitative medicine and considerations when caring for PWD, as well as guided research experience. Ms. Goss has also been involved in the creation, organization, and dissemination of the Disability Integration Toolkit (DIT). Through collaboration with the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) and partners at several academic institutions, the DIT provides active learning tools and other educational activities in an effort to promote the integration of disability-specific content in medical school curriculum.
Margaret A. Turk, MD is SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Pediatrics, and Public Health & Preventive Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University (UMU). She is Vice Chairman of SUNY UMU Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PMR), directs the PMR Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine clinical program serving children and adults with childhood onset disabilities, and began the brain injury medical services program at Upstate and the Centers at St. Camillus. She has promoted integrating disability education within medical school curricula locally and nationally. Along with her clinical work in rehabilitation and education responsibilities, she has been active in research on life-long disability and health care accessibility issues, contributing peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the topic. Most recently she contributed to the limited national information available about the adverse outcomes of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and the pandemic. She is a co-PI for the Disability Research and Dissemination Center, a cooperative agreement with Center for Disease Control and Prevention National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities to increase their capacity for research and training related to disability and health, and co-chairs the advisory group for the NYS DOH Disability and Health Program. She serves as a consultant related to the health of people with IDD on a National Institute on Aging grant and a grant specific National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial research Data and Safety Monitoring Board member; she is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) working group member determining Rehabilitation Common Data Elements for funded research. Dr. Turk is a Co-Editor-in-Chief of Disability and Health Journal. Dr. Turk’s professional service includes participation in PMR national leadership and contributions to national/international reports on disability, rehabilitation services, health promotion, and research. She serves on a community board that supports person-centered services for people with disability. She has received numerous awards for her contributions.
I am a 3rd year PhD student at Syracuse University pursuing a degree in Exercise Physiology with a focus on physical activity and health. I recently completed my MPH at SUNY Upstate Medical University (2020) where I worked closely with the Disability Health & Research Team to conduct a study examining the impact of COVID-19 on disabled individuals in New York State. We find it imperative to understand how the current coronavirus pandemic may be exacerbating the existing health disparities in this population. I'm passionate about promoting physical activity, specifically in children, as it relates to health and overall well-being. Many childhood behaviors track into adulthood thus making childhood and adolescence an incredibly important time in the lifespan to adopt healthy behaviors. I also have an interest in the differences in physical activity across various populations (e.g., race/ethnicity, sex/gender, disability status, socioeconomic status) and how those differences may influence health status. Being able to complete my MPH while working closely with the Disability Health and Research Team has given me the ability to start to combine my interests which I am very grateful for. I am also an avid cyclist in the Syracuse area and enjoy spending my free time (when it happens) outdoors!
Document Type
Extended Abstract
COVID-19 and Disability Services in Upstate New York: A Survey of Disability Organizations
People with disability, who represent 1 in 4 adults in the U.S., experience a number of health disparities. These disparities have been exacerbated by the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID-19). Individuals with disability may rely on services from organizations for support, and anecdotal evidence suggests that these services have been interrupted by COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to understand changes in service provision in a number of categories, changes in organizational priorities related to COVID-19, and the information needs of New York State (NYS) disability organizations. We hypothesized that disability services would decrease and that more services would be offered remotely during COVID-19 compared to prior to COVID-19. Methods We conducted a survey of NYS disability organizations, contacting individuals at those organizations via phone, email, and listserv. The survey was developed by the research team and included questions about services offered prior to COVID-19 versus during COVID-19, as well as additional precautions, health information, and organizational priorities. Disability services assessed in the survey included advocacy, caregiver, education, emergency/crisis services, health promotion programing, mental health, and recreational services, among others. The survey was conducted from August to December 2020. Descriptive analyses and paired sample t-test were conducted to compare service provision prior to and during COVID-19. Significance was set a priori at an alpha level of 0.05. Results Fifty-three respondent completed the survey from twenty-two counties in NYS. Organizations represented were of varied size and served a broad range of populations. The majority of organizations indicated that staff and clients had been impacted by COVID-19 positive cases. Overall, there were significantly fewer disability services offered during COVID-19 compared to prior to COVID-19. In addition, there was a significant change to remote disability services during COVID-19. Several disability services (health promotion, emergency/crisis, and recreational services) were no longer offered by organizations during COVID-19 that had been offered previously, while at the same time some services were initiated by organizations during the pandemic. Discussion/Conclusions As hypothesized, disability services decreased during COVID-19, and more services were offered remotely. The resulting impact of this change on health disparities experienced by people with disability is not yet clear, and these results represent a valuable starting point for understanding that impact. In addition, the finding that some services were no longer offered, while others were initiated, warrants further investigation. Further research on this topic utilizing clear definitions and investigating the changes in specific services would be valuable, especially related to the impact for people with disability in rural areas and other instances where alternatives might not be available.
Comments
The recording of this speaker ends at 2:37:53