Measuring Disability and Monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Author Information
Author(s): Jennifer H. Madans, Mitchell E. Loeb, Barbara M. Altman
Primary Institution: National Center for Health Statistics
Hypothesis
How can disability be defined and measured in a culturally neutral and standardized way among UN member states?
Conclusion
The Washington Group has developed a short set of questions to measure disability that can provide comparable data across nations.
Supporting Evidence
- The Washington Group has developed a short set of questions that are intended to identify the majority of persons in the population who are at greater risk of limited participation.
- Over 50 countries have tested the Washington Group short set or have used the questions in their national data collections.
- The questions cover six functional domains: seeing, hearing, walking, cognition, self-care, and communication.
Takeaway
This study helps us understand how to ask questions about disability so that everyone can answer them in a way that makes sense, no matter where they live.
Methodology
The Washington Group developed a short set of six questions for use in censuses and surveys to measure disability.
Limitations
The short set of questions does not capture all individuals at risk of experiencing the disadvantages associated with disability.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website