Disability, Urban Health Equity, and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Promoting Cities for All

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) living in cities during the COVID-19 pandemic response may be four times more likely to be injured or die than non-disabled persons, not because of their “vulnerable” position but because urban health policy, planning and practice has not considered their needs. In t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of urban health 2020-06, Vol.97 (3), p.336-341
Main Authors: Pineda, Victor Santiago, Corburn, Jason
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Barriers
Betacoronavirus
Cities
Community planning
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disabled Persons
Disease control
Epidemiology
Health Equity
Health Informatics
Health Policy
Health risks
Humans
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Pandemics
People with disabilities
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Public Health
Respiratory system
SARS-CoV-2
Urban Population
Viral diseases
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Summary:Persons with disabilities (PWDs) living in cities during the COVID-19 pandemic response may be four times more likely to be injured or die than non-disabled persons, not because of their “vulnerable” position but because urban health policy, planning and practice has not considered their needs. In this article, the adverse health impacts on PWDs during the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the “everyday emergencies” in cities for PWDs and that these can be avoided through more inclusive community planning, a whole-of-government commitment to equal access, and implementation of universal design strategies. Importantly, COVID-19 can place PWDs at a higher risk of infection since some may already have compromised immune and respiratory systems and policy responses, such as social distancing, can lead to life-threatening disruptions in care for those that rely on home heath or personal assistants. Living in cities may already present health-damaging challenges for PWDs, such as through lack of access to services and employment, physical barriers on streets and transportation, and smart-city technologies that are not made universally accessible. We suggest that the current pandemic be viewed as an opportunity for significant urban health reforms on the scale of the sanitary and governance reforms that followed ninetieth century urban epidemics. This perspective offers insights for ensuring the twenty-first century response to COVID-19 focuses on promoting more inclusive and healthy cities for all.
ISSN:1099-3460
1468-2869
DOI:10.1007/s11524-020-00437-7