Dolphin
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
When Disability Recognition Fails: Accommodation Refusals and Socioeconomic Challenges Among Canadians with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
byNene A. Diallo
1<i></i>,
John Molot
2<i></i>,
Riina Bray
3,4<i></i>
,Adrianna Trifunovski
1<i></i> and
Rohini Peris
1,*<i></i>
1
Association pour la Santé Environnementale du Québec—Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ), Saint-Sauveur, QC J0R 1R1, Canada
2
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1G 5Z3, Canada
3
Environmental Health Clinic, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, ON M5S 1B2, Canada
4
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23(8), 1076; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23081076
Submission received: 4 July 2026 / Revised: 8 August 2026 / Accepted: 11 August 2026 / Published: 19 August 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS): Interdisciplinary Insights into Science, Policy, and Lived Experience)
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Highlights
Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?- Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) can limit access to safe employment, housing, healthcare, and other essential determinants of public health, contributing to broader health inequities.
- This study examines how barriers to accommodation affect the social, economic, and health outcomes of Canadians living with MCS.
- High rates of accommodation refusal, unemployment, unsafe housing, and homelessness among people with MCS highlight the substantial public health burden associated with inadequate disability recognition and support.
- The findings demonstrate how institutional barriers can contribute to social exclusion and worsen health outcomes among individuals with MCS and related disabilities.
- Employers, housing providers and public spaces should implement accommodation measures that prioritize reduced levels of chemical exposures so that people with MCS can safely access these environments.
- Public health policies and disability frameworks should recognize the accessibility needs of those with MCS to promote health equity, housing stability, and workforce participation.
Abstract
Background:Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), a recognized disability, is a chronic, multisystem condition in which exposure to common chemical substances provokes adverse health effects and functional impairment.
Although population-level data and emerging clinical research support the pathophysiological basis of MCS, individuals living with the condition frequently encounter barriers to recognition and accommodation across employment, healthcare, and housing systems.
This study examines patterns of accommodation requests, refusals, and associated socioeconomic impacts among adults living with MCS in Canada, with particular attention to how institutional recognition shapes access to supports.
To our knowledge, this is the first national Canadian study to examine accommodation request outcomes across both employment and housing among adults with MCS, combining quantitative and qualitative data.
A national cross-sectional survey of 119 Canadian adults living with MCS was conducted between January and February 2021.
Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively to assess accommodation requests, outcomes, employment status, income, and housing stability.
Qualitative responses were analyzed thematically to contextualize participants’ experiences of disclosure, and accommodation outcomes.
Participants were predominantly female (87%) with post-secondary education (90%).
Among participants who reported being unemployed (29%), 94% attributed it primarily to MCS-related limitations.
Accommodation denial was common: 85% of respondents reported requesting accommodations, and 78% of those experienced refusals.
On housing conditions, 52% reported living in unsafe housing (defined as housing with the presence of mould or symptom-triggering exposures), while 17% reported being homeless (e.g., moving frequently, personal vehicle, tent).
Findings should be interpreted in light of the cross-sectional design, self-reported data, and community-based recruitment, which may limit generalizability.
The findings suggest that inconsistent institutional recognition of MCS can function as a barrier to accommodation, contributing to health, economic, and social inequities.
Addressing these barriers requires clarified guidance on the duty to accommodate multiple chemical sensitivity, proactive scent-free and lowest-emission policies in workplaces and housing, and improved healthcare provider education to support accommodation documentation.
Keywords:
multiple chemical sensitivity; disability accommodation; socioeconomic challenges; housing instability; employment barriers; institutional recognition; environmental disability; Canada