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What are the key considerations for including people with disabilities in COVID-19 hygiene promotion programmes?

WILBUR, Jane
HUNT, Xanthe
August 2019

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Question & problem

People with disabilities may be more likely to acquire COVID-19, and if infected may be more likely to experience serious symptoms, or die. Aside from those consequences of the pandemic related to morbidity and mortality, people with disabilities are often reliant on carers to aid with common daily tasks, and so social distancing measures may be unfeasible. Furthermore, safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and facilities may be inaccessible to people with disabilities, and, in many settings, efforts to deliver services in a socially-distanced world have resulted in the roll out of digital or remote healthcare approaches which are sometimes not accessible or inclusive. One of the key interventions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been international attention, and improved funding, programming and media messaging in support of WASH. People with disabilities – who are most at risk of negative consequences of COVID-19 – most need access to such interventions. Yet, WASH access is considered to be one of the biggest challenges of daily life for many people with disabilities.

An evidence review of research on health interventions in humanitarian crises

BLANCHET, Karl
et al
November 2013

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This report presents a review of the evidence base of public health interventions in humanitarian crises by assessing the quantity and quality of intervention studies, rather than measuring the actual effectiveness of the intervention itself.  It notes an increase in quality and volume of evidence on health interventions in humanitarian crises and recognises that evidence remains too limited, particularly for gender-based violence (GBV) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). This report identifies a number of common needs across all areas, namely more evidence for the effectiveness of systems and delivery, better developed research methods, and more evidence on dispersed, urban and rural populations, on ensuring continuity of care and measuring and addressing health care needs in middle-income settings (particularly NCDs)

Note: Use links on the left hand side of the webpage to access either the full report, the executive summary, or the individual chapters arranged by health topic

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