"Everything is a Mess. I'm Just Trying to Survive It.": Impacts of COVID-19 on Personal Assistance Services

In the United States, eight million people have disabilities related to self-care (having serious difficulty with bathing and dressing). Of these, approximately 2.3 million receive paid personal assistance services (PAS) to assist with activities of daily living. The National Survey on Health and Disability asked a series of questions about the impacts of COVID-19 for disabled people including disruptions in PAS. We used data from an open-ended question "How did you manage without the help you needed in your home?" to bring light to both the importance of, and vulnerabilities associated with, receipt of PAS. Themes from qualitative responses (n = 108) included (1) causes of unmet need, (2) consequences of unmet need, and (3) adaptations to overcome the loss of PAS. Results provide compelling evidence about the importance of the personal care attendant workforce and needed policies to address worker shortages to support community-based living options.