Seoul City Conducts Survey on Living Conditions of Severely Disabled Persons Amid COVID-19 Situation

1500 Disabled Individuals Aged 18 and Over Targeted Until October... Online and Telephone Surveys Replace Face-to-Face Interviews

An activity assistant is helping a severely disabled person with mobility difficulties eat at the Seoul Northern Disabled Welfare Center.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 23rd that it will conduct a survey jointly with the Seoul Welfare Foundation to identify the difficulties and living conditions experienced by people with severe disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and to prepare practical improvement measures for the post-COVID-19 era.

The survey targets 1,500 individuals aged 18 or older with severe disabilities residing in Seoul, selected as a sample. From July to October this year, over four months, Korean Research surveyors will conduct the survey online via the web. For those with severe disabilities who find online responses difficult, one-on-one individual telephone interviews will also be conducted.

Since 2011, Seoul has conducted the Severe Disability Independent Living Survey every three years. Until now, the survey was conducted through one-on-one face-to-face interviews, but this year, considering the emergency disaster situation caused by COVID-19, it will be conducted online.

The survey covers a total of 11 items, including health management and health status, daily life, independent living, and employment of people with disabilities. Especially this year, it will focus on practical aspects of how COVID-19 affects the lives of people with severe disabilities living at home, such as daily life stress, requests for help, inconveniences, activities at home, interest in information and sufficiency of information, infection prevention behaviors, and Seoul city support requirements.

The survey results will be reflected in future support services for independent living of people with disabilities after gathering opinions from stakeholders and will be used as basic data for the 'Five-Year Plan for Supporting Independent Living of People with Disabilities.'

Lee Byung-wook, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Disability Independent Living Support Division, said, "The Severe Disability Independent Living Survey in Seoul aims to improve the quality of services for the independent living of people with severe disabilities and to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era," adding, "We hope for active interest and cooperation from people with disabilities and their families."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.