Note: “Fear is Grounded in Reality”: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Refugees’ Access to Health and Accessibility Resources in the United States

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on people's lives worldwide. Research has shown that these impacts are distinct for different populations and often exasperate existing inequities and challenges. Within this landscape, the experiences of refugees with disabilities and mental health challenges are understudied. There is a need to better understand the challenges that refugees with disabilities and their families face in host countries during the pandemic and investigate strategies used to overcome them to inform future inclusive pandemic preparedness efforts. In this paper, we report findings from interviews conducted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic with four experts who serve refugees in the US. Participants described the impact of the pandemic on refugees, explained challenges that the prevailing political conditions of the time added to refugees’ experiences, and identified several strategies for resilience they experienced in the communities they serve.