How Did People with Functional Disability Experience the First COVID-19 Lockdown? A Thematic Analysis of YouTube Comments

Karen A E Hall; Blanca Deusdad; Manuel D'Hers Del Pozo; Ángel Martínez-Hernáez

doi:10.3390/ijerph191710550

How Did People with Functional Disability Experience the First COVID-19 Lockdown? A Thematic Analysis of YouTube Comments

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 24;19(17):10550. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191710550.

Authors

Karen A E Hall¹, Blanca Deusdad¹, Manuel D'Hers Del Pozo¹, Ángel Martínez-Hernáez¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Anthropology, Philosophy and Social Work, Rovira I Virgili University, 43003 Tarragona, Spain.

Abstract

People with functional disability endure barriers to health and other services and to full participation in social life. In the context of COVID-19, this discrimination has been intensified worldwide. We examine how the experience of COVID-19 lockdown was depicted in comments to a video about functional disability and COVID published on VICE's YouTube channel. We analysed the first 100 comments on the video, which was posted in spring 2020, during the first COVID-19 lockdown (roughly from March to June 2020, with some variations around the world). We identified four themes: lack of access to care and services, isolation and lifestyle changes, mental health consequences, and peer support. Legal regulations regarding COVID-19 and people with functional disability have not been sufficient in most countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed inadequate care systems, even in Western countries with advanced social protection policies.

Keywords: COVID-19; disability; discrimination; functional disability; isolation & social media.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Communicable Disease Control
Humans
Mental Health
Pandemics / prevention & control
Social Media*

Grants and funding

This paper is part of a project which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 713679, and as well from the H2020 project SoCaTel (2017-21) (Grant Agreement No 769975), and from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV).