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Refugees with disabilities (RWDs) frequently encounter inaccessible systems during resettlement, yet accessibility remains underexamined as a cross-cutting determinant of employment, health, housing, and education. This study examines how inaccessibility operates across service systems and everyday environments to shape exclusion and inequity.
Methods:
Using a Community-Based Participatory Research approach and qualitative descriptive design, we engaged 41 RWDs and 26 service providers across 11 states. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus groups and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to capture lived experiences and practitioner perspectives on barriers and facilitators to access and communication.
Results:
Findings revealed pervasive program inaccessibility spanning digital platforms, service systems, housing, and neighborhood infrastructure. Five interconnected subthemes emerged: structural service designs that systematically excluded RWDs; institutional unpreparedness to meet disability-related needs; compounded exclusion at the intersection of disability, poverty, and refugee status; accessibility as a condition of safety and livability; and prolonged housing instability as a consequence of inaccessible and unaffordable systems. Participants described how inaccessible communication, technologies, and physical environments delayed service uptake, disrupted employment pathways, and undermined stability during early resettlement.
Conclusions and Implications:
Accessibility functions as a foundational condition of integration rather than a secondary accommodation. Findings highlight the need for disability-responsive resettlement policies, accessible housing pipelines, institutional readiness training, and co-designed service models led by RWDs. Centering accessibility is critical to advancing equity and preventing structural exclusion in social service systems.