Programme : Presentation on 23 September 2003

Overview of disability data, methods and standards

Text version of a Powerpoint Presentation
Presented by Jeremiah Banda on 23 September 2003, 10:00am

Slide 1

Work of the United Nations Statistics Division to Improve Statistics on Persons With Disabilities

Jeremiah Banda
United Nations Statistics Division

Work on improving disability data for policy use
23-26 September 2003

International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)	Programme of Action, Major Goals
	Equalization of Opportunities	Rehabilitation	Prevention
Environment	E_e	E_r	E_p
Activities and participation	A_e	A_r	A_p
Body Functions and Structures	B_e	B_r	B_p

Stated Neutrally	Stated as a Problem
Participation Activity Body Function and Structure	Restriction Limitation Impairment

Compilation and dissemination of data
- Database (DISTAT)
- Website
Development of methods for data collection and compilation
- Census recommendations
- Manual
- Guidelines

A global database including statistics, indicators and textual information from national studies
- Statistics and indicators by age and sex on type of disability and socio-economic characteristics
- Textual information including type of study, coverage, and questions used

A comprehensive and easily accessible source of the available national statistics
Model for the establishment of national databases on persons with disabilities

Disability prevalence rates by country and by:
- Sex
- Age
- Rural/urban area of residence, when available
Metadata on questions used in study
Web address: http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/disability

Conceptual issues - conceptually, disability is a complex phenomenon with no static state, and can be conceptualized in many ways, including at the level of body, the person, or the society. Disability is the result of an interaction between the person with the disability and their particular environment
Measurement issues - including the questions used, their structure and wording, and how they are understood and interpreted by the respondents.

Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses
Manual for the Development of Statistical Information for Disability Programmes and Policies
Guidelines and Principles for the Development of Disability Statistics
Within the framework of ICF

The World Programme of Action urges the United Nations Statistics Division together with other units of the United Nations Secretariat, the specialized agencies and regional commissions to:

Develop realistic and practical systems of data collection
Prepare technical manuals/documents on how to use household surveys for the collection of such statistics

Include "disability" as a topic that may be investigated in a census
Provide guidance on how to:
- define the population with disability
- develop the question to be used
- generate possible tabulations

Consulting persons with disabilities
Reviewing ethical standards
Defining the population of interest
Defining the domains of interest
Considering how the data will be used to provide information
Assessing the quality and detail of the data to be collected
Assessing costs of collecting, processing and disseminating the new statistical information
Dissemination of the results

Planning rehabilitation programmes and policies aimed at enhancing functional abilities, integration within society and quality of life for persons with disabilities.
Evaluating the programmes and policies implemented and providing suggestions for using information as the basis for an evaluation.

Uganda and Egypt
To strengthen national capabilities to produce and use relevant data to answer policy-related questions on disability
Emphasize need for dialogue between producers and users of disability statistics in the process of producing disability statistics
Develop some questions for use in censuses

Disability data collected through the Demographic Yearbook data collection system

Meetings & workshops on disability measurement
Continued work on developing general measures of disability together with Washington Group