Lessons of the pandemic as an incentive to modernize the support system for people with disabilities

Abstract

The relevance of this study is determined by the need for an objective assessment of changes in the socio-economic situation of the population most vulnerable categories, in particular persons with disabilities, during the coronavirus pandemic. The past 2020 was marked by large-scale changes in the daily life of the population, especially its vulnerable categories. People with disabilities have experienced stress not only due to the need for self-isolation, but also due to a decrease in the availability and quality of critical areas of life. The purpose of this work is to formulate proposals aimed at improving social policy in relation to people with disabilities in Russia, taking into account the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The information base of the work was formed by the results of a sociological survey, demonstrating the changes that have occurred during the coronavirus pandemic in the financial situation of people with disabilities, the availability of health care and social protection services for them, psychological state and behavior. It is shown how much the help of volunteers and distance selling were in demand during this period on the part of the disabled. It was found that disabled people living alone were less likely to notice the impact of the pandemic and the introduced quarantine measures on their lives. Among the answers of the lonely respondents, there was also a large share of negative assessments which showed us that society is not ready for integration, the possibility of an independent life, and the media activities in terms of covering the problems which people with disabilities have. The novelty of the study is in identifying the differentiation of the reaction of people with disabilities to a pandemic situation, depending on the type of disabilities observed in them, as well as on the influence of the living alone factor. It is also substantiated that during the period of self-isolation, distance selling played a compensatory role, reducing the tension of the problem with the inaccessibility of the environment for the disabled. On the basis of empirical data, it was confirmed that the period of the pandemic was associated with a decrease in the accessibility of services in the field of health care and social protection for people with disabilities. In the final part of the study, recommendations were formulated regarding the improvement of the social support existing system for people with disabilities, taking into account the experience of the changes that occurred in the life of the group during the coronavirus pandemic.