Catalyst Seminar Series: Impacts on Individuals with Disabilities
Join the Institute for Pandemics on November 11 at 12 PM for a virtual seminar on how COVID-19 impacted access to care for people with disabilities.
Dr. Chavon Niles
Assistant Professor
Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Talk title: “Addressing Health Inequities for Black and Racialized Immigrants with Disabilities During and Beyond COVID-19 in Ontario”
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and deepened longstanding inequities in healthcare access and outcomes, disproportionately affecting underserved communities (Subedi, Greenberg, and Turcotte, 2020). In Ontario, Black and racialized immigrants with disabilities experienced compounded barriers shaped by racism, ableism, and immigration status. These intersecting oppressions limited access to healthcare, rehabilitation, and social services, while also creating cascading impacts on mental health, economic security, and social participation.
Objective
Through narrative inquiry and storytelling, we conducted in-depth interviews with Black and racialized immigrants with disabilities in Ontario, centering their lived experiences as sites of knowledge and expertise. This approach challenges dominant societal narratives that often marginalize or erase these communities (Dossa, 2009). By amplifying participants’ untold stories, the study generates insights that can inform culturally responsive health interventions, guide equitable policy development, and strengthen pandemic and public health emergency planning.
Hilary Brown, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Toronto Scarborough
Talk title: “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Clinical Outcomes of Patients with a Disability Hospitalized on a Medical Service”
Background
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are 1 billion people with a physical, sensory, or developmental disability globally. In North America, the prevalence of disability is 20%, with one-third of individuals over 65 years having a disability. While evidence suggests people with disabilities are at elevated risk for acquiring and suffering severe outcomes associated with COVID-19, the impact of the pandemic on hospital care and outcomes for patients with disabilities more generally received little attention. Research in the general population shows communication failures contribute to patient harm, and pandemic conditions may have disproportionately hindered communication for patients with disabilities via restricted visitor policies and facemasks and face shields that impede communication. People with disabilities have also experienced disruptions to outpatient clinical, personal care, meal, and medication services that have had a profound impact on their well-being. These issues may contribute to elevated risk of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with disabilities on a medical service.
Objective
Using health administrative data, we examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical outcomes (in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit [ICU] admission, hospital length of stay [LOS], unplanned 30-day readmission) of patients with and without a disability admitted to a medical service for non-COVID-related illnesses.
Where and when
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
12 - 1 pm
Online