Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among staff and consumers at Florida centers for independent living.

Background: People with disabilities (PWD) face health disparities due to barriers that limit their access to essential healthcare services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, health disparities among PWD increased as stay-at-home mandates and other safety measures interrupted access to healthcare and social services. Community-based and consumer-driven Centers for Independent Living (CILs) attempt to reduce disparities faced by PWD by providing information and referrals, peer counseling, and advocacy.

Objective: Despite funding to utilize public health workers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future crises, the literature currently lacks examinations of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CIL consumers and staff.

Methods: This qualitative study employed a directed content analysis to evaluate 6 consumer focus groups (N = 35) and 4 staff focus groups (N = 14).

Results: Through data analysis, staff themes included Resource Gaps, COVID-19 Concerns, Impact on Independence, Impact on Health, Work Demand Changes, and Work/Life Balance. Among consumers, themes of CIL Service Experiences, CIL Benefits, COVID-19 Concerns of Using CILs, COVID-19 Barriers to Using CILs, Impact on Independence, Impact on Health, Resource Gaps, and Recommendations for CILs were present.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the diverse experiences among PWD during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are similarities in the impact of environmental factors on the severity of disability experienced by consumers and staff. This study highlights the benefits of independent community living resource centers and the need to better understand the experiences of PWD to prepare for future pandemics.