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

• Published date: 01 November 2021
• Author: Sophie Yates,Helen Dickinson
• Date: 01 November 2021
• DOI: http://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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