HCARDD COVID Program

Since the onset of COVID-19, members of the H-CARDD Program were actively involved in identifying health and health care challenges for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and working in partnership to develop innovative solutions to address health care gaps during the pandemic.

With a focus on vaccination, we developed two policy briefs both focused on inclusivity and accessibility of vaccination efforts in Canada.

Including People with Developmental Disabilities as a Priority Group in Canada’s COVID- 19 Vaccination Program: Key Considerations: Part 1
Including People with Developmental Disabilities as a Priority Group in Canada’s COVID- 19 Vaccination Program: Key Considerations: Part 2

As well, H-CARDD contributed to an Ontario Science Brief on accessible vaccinations to further inform and guide vaccination practices for adults with IDD.

Our COVID program included two national virtual education projects aimed at building the capacity of people with developmental disabilities, families, and health and social service providers from across the country. For a summary of these projects, see our Snapshots and Easy Reads documents.

Our research team, including self-advocate and family caregiver advisors, presented Working Together to Deliver a Nationwide Virtual Education Program on improving mental and physical health during COVID at the 2023 Canadian Health and Wellbeing in Developmental Disabilities Conference.

Our team also worked in partnership with patients, families and health care providers to develop patient-friendly resources to support the health and wellbeing of adults with IDD and their families related to vaccination, emergency care, and mental health. Several of these resources were developed as part of the Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Program. Our resources can be found at www.hcarddcovid.com/info.

Resources

Snapshot from the CIHR COVID Project to Support Mental Health
Accessible dance videos
My COVID Check in
Hospital Transfer Form
DDPCP COVID tools

Publications

The impact of a virtual wellness course for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the third year of COVID-19 by L. St. John et al. in Journal of Intellectual Disabilities.

Download the Easy Read version of the paper.

Predictors of mental well-being among family caregivers of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities during COVID-19. O. Mendoza et al. in BJPsych Open.

Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, Sleep and Mental Wellbeing in Family Caregivers of Adults With Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities by L. Koch et al. in Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

Evaluation of a co-designed Health Check-in for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and family caregivers to support pandemic recovery by Lunsky, Y. et al. in British Journal of Learning Disabilities.

Download the Easy Read version of the paper.
Watch the video below with Dr. Yona Lunsky and self-advocate advisors, Marissa Blake and Victor Pereira, as they talk about the Health Check-in Tool and making doctor visits better for people with developmental disabilities.

The power of partnerships to identify and address mental health concerns experienced by adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities by Lunsky, Y. et al. in American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Bridging the Gap: A national virtual education program for professionals caring for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the time of COVID-19 by Thakur, A. et al. in BJPsych Open.

"Everything has changed since COVID”: Ongoing challenges faced by Canadian adults with intellectual disabilities during waves 2 and 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic by Safar et al., Journal of Intellectual Disabilities (2024).