Late Breaking Research Poster 1828687
Barriers to School and Work Transitions for Youth With and Without a Disability During The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Comparison

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2022.01.030Get rights and content

Research Objectives

To explore barriers to school and work transitions for youth with and without a disability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design

An interpretive descriptive qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews.

Setting

Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada which was considered a hot zone for COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Participants

A purposive sample of 35 youth (18 with a disability; 17 without), aged 16-29 (mean age 23).

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

Semi-structured interviews with participants.

Results

Our findings revealed several similarities and some differences between youth with and without disabilities regarding barriers to school and work transitions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key themes related to these barriers involved: (1) difficult transition to online school and working from home (i.e., expense of setting up home office, technical challenges, impact on mental health), (2) uncertainty about employment (i.e., under-employment, difficult working conditions, difficulty finding work, disability-related challenges) and (3) missed career development opportunities (i.e., cancelled or reduced internships or placements, lack of volunteer opportunities, uncertainties about career pathway, longer-term impact of pandemic).

Conclusions

Our findings highlight that youth with disabilities may need further support in engaging in meaningful and accessible vocational activities that align with their career pathway.

Author(s) Disclosures

None.

Keywords

Adolescent
Rehabilitation
Employment
Pandemic

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