Navigating Complexity in a Global Pandemic: The Effects of COVID‐19 on Children and Young People with Disability and Their Families in Australia

Published date01 November 2021
AuthorSophie Yates,Helen Dickinson
Date01 November 2021
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13352
1192 Public Administration Review November | D ecember 2 021
Sophie Yates
Helen Dickinson
School of Business, UNSW, Canberra
Navigating Complexity in a Global Pandemic: The Effects of
COVID-19 on Children and Young People with Disability
and Their Families in Australia
Abstract: While Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) does not discriminate against particular groups, our social
structures and systems mean some people are more at risk in a pandemic context—from both the disease and the social
and policy responses to the pandemic. This is particularly so for people with disability, in par t because they often have
poorer health outcomes from underlying conditions but also due to discrimination and social exclusion. Here, we draw
from a survey about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australian children and young people with disability
and their families. Respondents faced a range of inequities prior to the pandemic, and COVID-19 has further exposed
and often exacerbated them. We conclude that recent developments in the Australian disability context to personalize
services have arguably made people with disability and their families less safe within a pandemic context, and we
outline some ways in which these issues might be addressed.
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic has killed many people globally and
has radically changed the ways of life for many
others. While politicians frequently comment that
COVID-19 does not discriminate, our underlying
social structures and systems mean some groups are
more at risk in a pandemic context and are therefore
more affected than others. This is particularly the
case for people with disability, in part because
they often have poorer health outcomes relating
to underlying conditions, but more significantly
due to discriminatory issues such as difficulties in
accessing health and other services and typically
faring worse within the health care system (Emerson
et al. 2011; Kavanagh et al. 2013; Sabatello, Landes,
and McDonald 2020). Evidence from previous
pandemics shows that health inequities worsen
during epidemics as more marginalized communities
have fewer resources (financial and social) and
struggle to access necessary supplies and services
(Quinn and Kumar 2014). More broadly, research
has shown that people with disability are frequently
overlooked in crisis and emergency response, leading
to unequal outcomes when universal or generalized
supports are applied to the affected population—
despite the fact that people with disability can make
important contributions to risk reduction and disaster
response (Alexander, Gaillard, and Wisner 2012;
Ronoh, Gaillard, and Marlowe 2015; Stough and
Kelman 2018).
In this article, we draw from the results of a
nationwide survey conducted on the early impacts
of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australian children
and young people with disability and their families
(Dickinson and Yates 2020). We present some key
messages from the data and go beyond this, drawing
on the disability policy literature and referencing
recent policy and administrative changes to explore
why individuals and families may have experienced
challenges during the COVID-19 response.
While the overall Australian COVID-19 response
has been successful in relation to many comparable
countries (Moloney and Moloney 2020), data
presented in this article show that the COVID-19
pandemic has exposed and exacerbated social
inequities. Children and young people and their
families faced a range of inequities prior to the
pandemic, and this experience only served to
illuminate and, in some cases, worsen them. We
demonstrate this by first illustrating how children
and young people with disabilities and their families
did not receive sufficient targeted information. This
is problematic as families often rely on complex
networks of systems and support services, and we
outline the impact the pandemic and associated
lockdown has had on these supports. Furthermore,
people with disability were not considered in
Australia’s key pandemic planning and response
documents (e.g., the Australian Health Management
Plan for Pandemic Influenza and the Commonwealth
Department of Health’s first COVID-19 emergency
response plan) until well after the COVID-19
pandemic was declared. Finally, we argue that recent
developments in the Australian disability context to
Public Administration Review,
Vol. 81, Iss. 6, pp. 1192–1196. © 2021 by
The American Society for Public Administration.
DOI: 10.1111/puar.13352.
Helen Dickinson is a Professor of Public
Service Research and Director of the Public
Service Research Group at the School of
Business, USNW Canberra. Her expertise
is in public services, particularly in relation
to topics such as governance, policy
implementation, and stewardship of fourth
industrial revolution technologies. Helen
has published 18 books and over 80 peer-
reviewed journal articles on these topics.
Email: h.dickinson@adfa.edu.au
Sophie Yates is a Postdoctoral Fellow
at the Public Service Research Group,
School of Business, UNSW Canberra, and
was previously a Research Fellow at the
Australia and New Zealand School of
Government. Sophie has published on
gender and family violence, disability policy,
and various public management topics. She
has won several national and international
awards for her PhD and publications.
Email: s.yates@unsw.edu.au
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