Sexual and reproductive health care for women and gender-diverse people in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic
The disability and reproductive health during COVID-19 study examines how the pandemic impacted access to sexual and reproductive health care for people with disabilities across Canada. Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) with data collected in 2022-2023, this collaborative mixed-methods and community-engaged study includes a national survey and semi-structured interviews with women and gender-diverse people with disabilities. Community partners include DAWN (DisAbled Women’s Network) Canada and ASE Community Foundation for Black Canadians with Disabilities.
Related publications
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Evans, Meredith, Kyara J. Liu, Alexandra Rego, Nkem Ogbonna, Sidrah Zafar, and Hilary K. Brown. 2025. “’It’s a low-key thing of eugenics’: Disability reproductive injustice in barriers to cervical cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Social Science & Medicine.
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Listen to Meredith & Keat discuss our research findings from our article, "Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to sexual and reproductive health services for women and gender-diverse people with disabilities in Canada," on the SRHM Podcast (Season 4, Episode 5)
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Evans, Meredith, Alexandra Rego, Nkem Ogbonna, Kate Welsh, Sidrah K. Zafar, Lucy C. Barker, Anne Berndl, Janice Du Mont, Yona Lunsky, Amy McPherson, Lesley A. Tarasoff, Ashley Vandermorris, and Hilary K. Brown. 2024. “Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to sexual and reproductive health for women and gender-diverse people with disabilities in Canada: a qualitative study.” Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters.
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Evans, Meredith, Lesley Tarasoff, Yona Lunsky, Kate Welsh, Laurie Proulx, Susan Havercamp, Susan Parish, and Hilary K. Brown. 2024. “Disability justice and collective access to labour and delivery care: a qualitative study.” BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. 24(2):832.
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Forbes, Samantha, Lesley A. Tarasoff, Meredith Evans, and Hilary K. Brown. 2024. “Preconception health disparities among reproductive-aged women with and without disabilities in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Public Health. 115: 493–501.
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Rego, Alexandra, Meredith Evans, Hilary K. Brown, Sidrah Zafar, Kyara J. Liu, and Nkem Ogbonna. 2023. “Access denied: Pandemic highlighted issues in accessing sexual and reproductive health for persons with disabilities.” Healthy Debate.
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Brown, Hilary K., Mariame Ouedraogo, Lesley Pablo, Meredith Evans, and Ashley Vandermorris. 2023. “Contraception Use Among Female Youth with Disabilities: Secondary Analysis of a Canadian Cross-Sectional Survey.” Disability and Health Journal 16(2): 101445.
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Brown, Hilary K., Samantha M. Forbes, Meredith Evans, and Lesley A. Tarasoff. 2023. “Pregnancy outcomes in Canadian women with disabilities: Results from linked survey and health administrative data.” Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada 45(10): 102179.
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Evans, Meredith, Alexandra Rego, Kate Welsh, Sidrah Zafar, Jihan Abbas, et al. 2022. "Disability and reproductive health: Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic." Healthy Debate.