Open AccessThe Impact of Covid-19 Public Health Policies on Persons with Disability and their Caregivers in Malta
Author(s) -
Andrew Camilleri,
Samantha Pace Gasan,
Andrew Azzopardi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of social science research and review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2700-2497
DOI - 10.47814/ijssrr.v4i2.88
Subject(s) - social distance , thematic analysis , pandemic , covid-19 , social isolation , isolation (microbiology) , public health , ignorance , psychology , political science , economic growth , medicine , public relations , gerontology , nursing , sociology , qualitative research , psychiatry , disease , economics , social science , pathology , law , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health pandemic, due to the spread of a novel coronavirus, later named “Covid-19”. The spread of Covid-19 led to social isolation, distancing and a number of restrictive measures in Malta. The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictive measures on persons with disability and their caregivers and families in Malta. Using thematic analysis, the study found that a variety of impacts ranging from a sense of isolation, lack of essential services being provided, additional difficulties encountered at the place of work and education and measures that were not sufficiently tailored for persons with disability issued by public health authorities. Underlying the additional difficulties brought about by Covid-19, structural difficulties to access essential services as well as ignorance from policy makers and politicians and the added “vulnerable-ization” of persons with disabilities were found to be highly impacting factors that pervade the experience of persons with disabilities and their caregivers.