Impact of Coronavirus Infection Threats and Response Measures to Combat It on Disabled People as a Socially Vulnerable Category: A Thematic Literature Review

In December 2019, the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a widespread social upheaval. The negative consequences of the infection and restrictions associated with it have particularly acutely affected socially vulnerable groups of the population, including the disabled. This article attempts a thematic analysis of scientific publications on the impact of the coronavirus infection and response measures to combat it on persons with disabilities. The empirical basis was the domestic and foreign literature in Russian and English from the scientific databases Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Academy, E-library, as well as published in journals included in the list of peer-reviewed publications of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation. The analysis of English- and Russian-language literature suggests the relevance of research on the threats and social consequences of COVID-19. However, the emphasis on the disparity and specificity of the threats and consequences of the pandemic, and the response to it for socially vulnerable groups of the population is rather characteristic of English-language literature. English-language databases contain a larger body of scientific literature on the problems of persons with disabilities in this period. Based on the analysis of the databases, the main threats to persons with disabilities during the pandemic were identified (threats related to the availability and quality of medical services; the inability to comply with preventive measures; deterioration of mental health; socioeconomic risks; threats associated with difficulties in reducing or unavailability of services and social support; increased risks of infection in segregated living conditions; the low level of accessibility of the environment and information; the increase in violence and the transformation of “norms” in relation to persons with disabilities). Scientific research is an important resource for reducing threats during the COVID-19 period and developing fundamentally new mechanisms for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. Insufficient attention of domestic researchers to the situation of disabled people, lack of consideration of gender, age, and nosological characteristics of various categories of disabled people during the pandemic negatively affect the development of targeted support for the population. The thematic spectrum of research on the problems of persons with disabilities during the pandemic allows us to outline research directions in the Russian reality and use the knowledge gained in the development of practical recommendations for improving social policy in relation to persons with disabilities.

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