COVID-19 Related Experiences Among College Students With and Without Disabilities: Psychosocial Impacts, Supports, and Virtual Learning Environments

Disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on deaf college students

This study explores the experiences of deaf college students during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine institutional capacity to retain their most vulnerable students during this time of crisis. A secondary analysis of the National Center for Education Statistics dataset, the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, was conducted to explore deaf students' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic with communication from their college and disruptions related to finances, housing, or academics and to determine whether deaf students were more likely to leave their institutions than hearing students. The findings demonstrated that despite deaf students receiving similar amounts of helpful communication as their hearing peers and experiencing fewer economic disruptions, they were still nearly twice as likely to take a leave of absence or withdraw from their institution during the pandemic. These findings highlight the vulnerability of deaf college students to leaving college despite receiving institutional support.

Association of 24-h movement behaviors during Covid-19 pandemic with spinal musculoskeletal disorders in undergraduate students: a cross-sectional study

Background and Aims

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are an important health problem, and the Covid-19 pandemic affected several lifestyle and health aspects worldwide, including moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary behavior (SB) and sleep time, which compose the 24-h movement guidelines (24-hMG). It is unclear whether meeting 24-hMG during pandemic have been associated with MSD in adult population and this study aimed to analyze the association of meeting 24-hMG with spinal MSD in undergraduate students during Covid-19 pandemic.

Methods

A sample of 71 undergraduate students were assessed (24.0 ± 6.6 years, 52% of women). MVPA was assessed by accelerometer, while daily time of SB and sleep were assessed by questionnaires. Spinal MSD was assessed by the Nordic questionnaire. Logistic regression models analyzed the association of meeting 24-hMG (individually and combined) with MSD, independently of age, sex, and body mass index.

Results

Spinal MSD affected 78.9% of sample. Only 11.3% of sample fully met the 24-hMG. Participants who did not meet both MVPA and SB guidelines were more likely to have MSD in low back (OR:3.45, p = 0.049) and spine (OR:3.78, p = 0.048) even after multiple adjustment. Otherwise, not meeting SB guideline was inversely associated with upper back MSD (OR:0.22, p = 0.012).

Conclusion

Meeting 24-hMG during Covid-19 pandemic were differently associated with spinal MSD, where combination of MVPA and SB shows to be protective against MSD in low back and in spine. However, the determinants of association between meeting SB guideline and higher upper back MSD still needs to be investigated.

COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Implications for employment and higher education

BACKGROUND

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in all areas of public life. The ADA contributes to equal opportunity across policy areas, including the interconnected domains of higher education and employment. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, emerging research has begun to document the disparities in impact on people with disabilities, among other marginalized groups. However, no research to date has reviewed and synthesized literature that addresses disability discrimination related to COVID-19 that has implications for application of the ADA.

OBJECTIVE

This rapid evidence review aims to increase understanding about how COVID-19 has resulted in challenges for people with disabilities in the domains of employment and higher education that may be resolved through application of the ADA.

METHODS

Keyword searches were conducted in five electronic databases. Title, abstract, and full text screening was conducted followed by a thematic analysis of key ADA themes.

RESULTS

Twelve final articles were included in this review, eight categorized within higher education and four within employment. In relation to the ADA and COVID-19, five studies revealed findings related to web accessibility, eight related to effective communication, and four related to reasonable accommodations.

CONCLUSION

The findings provide a broad overview of the current research on how COVID-19 has affected accessibility, communications and accommodations in employment and higher education and identify gaps in the literature within these policy domains.

Disability and loneliness in the United Kingdom: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of trends and transitions

BACKGROUND

Loneliness can have a detrimental impact on health, yet little is known about the association between disability and loneliness.

METHODS

Secondary analysis of three waves of data collected between 2017 and 2020 by the UK's annual household panel study, Understanding Society. Direct age-standardisation was used to compare the prevalence of loneliness at each wave and the persistence of loneliness across all three waves for participants with/without disabilities aged 16-65 years. Transitional probabilities for the stability of loneliness, the stability of non-loneliness, the onset of loneliness and the offset of loneliness between consecutive waves were also estimated.

RESULTS

At each wave, the prevalence of loneliness was significantly higher among respondents with disabilities than respondents without disabilities; these inequalities persisted with no evidence of change over time. The prevalence of persistent loneliness was 46% for respondents with disabilities compared with 22% for respondents without disabilities. Risk factors for the likelihood of persistent loneliness included disability, financial stress, not living as a couple, living in rented accommodation, being female and not being employed. The probability of the onset and stability of loneliness between successive waves were markedly higher for people with disabilities compared with people without disabilities.

CONCLUSION

Adults with disabilities were more likely to experience loneliness, become lonely and remain lonely over time than their peers. Policies and interventions aimed at reducing loneliness should ensure that they are accessible and effective for people with disabilities. Further research is needed to explore the health outcomes of persistent loneliness among people with/without disabilities.

Trust in and Use of COVID-19 Information Sources Differs by Health Literacy among College Students

People’s health information-seeking behaviors differ by their health literacy levels. This study assessed the relationship between health literacy and college students’ levels of trust in and use of a range of health information sources of COVID-19. We collected data from August to December 2020 among college students (n = 763) through an online survey. We used a health literacy measure containing three self-reported survey questions, developed by the CDC. We assessed the extent to which participants trusted and used any of the sixteen different sources of information about COVID-19. Respondents reported high levels of trusting and using COVID-19 information from the CDC, health care providers, the WHO, state/county/city health departments, and official government websites when compared to other sources. After controlling for demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, age, race, ethnicity, and income), those who reported having lower health literacy were significantly less likely to trust and use COVID-19 information from these health authorities when compared to participants who reported having higher health literacy. Students with lower self-reported health literacy indicated not trusting or using official health authority sources for COVID-19 information. Relying on low-quality information sources could create and reinforce people’s misperceptions regarding the virus, leading to low compliance with COVID-19-related public health measures and poor health outcomes.

Moderation of the association between COVID-19-related income loss and depression by receipt of financial support: Repeated cross-sectional surveys of young adults in Canada and France (2020-2021)

Background

To mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial resources, governments and family/friends mobilized financial support interventions (e.g., emergency aid funds) and assistance. However, little is known about how financial assistance alleviated mental health problems. This study aimed to investigate the moderating effect of financial support from the government or from family/friends on the association between income loss and depression among young adults.

Methods

Two online cross-sectional surveys among young adults ages 18-29 living in Canada and France were conducted in 2020 (n = 4,511) and 2021 (n = 3,329). Moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (cut-off score: ≥10). Two logistic regression models were performed for each survey with an interaction term between income loss and financial support (government or family/friends modeled separately), controlling for demographics.

Results

Overall, half reported depressive symptoms (2020/2021: 53.5%/45.6%), and over a third lost income (2020/2021: 10.2%/11.6% all income, 37.7%/21.6% some income). In 2020, 40.6% received government financial support (17.7% in 2021) while family/friends support was received by 12% (in both surveys). In both surveys, among those who received governmental financial support, income loss was associated with depression, whether participants lost all their income (e.g., 2020: Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) 1.75, 95% Confidence Interval [1.29-2.44]), or some of their income (e.g., 2020: AOR 1.45 [1.17-1.81]). However, among those who received family/friends financial support, income loss was no longer significantly associated with depression in both cycles, whether participants lost all their income (e.g., 2020: AOR 1.37 [0.78-2.40]), or some of their income (e.g., 2020: AOR 1.31 [0.86-1.99]).

Conclusions

Association between income loss and depression was moderated by receipt of family/friends financial support but not by receipt of government financial support. Financial support interventions may help to mitigate the negative effects of income loss on young adults mental health during periods of economic crisis.