Improving national statistical systems for disability information in the Asia Pacific Region

Wei Liu, Statistics Division,
UNESCAP

Text version of a PowerPoint presentation

Slide 1

Improving national statistical systems for disability information in the Asia Pacific Region

Regional Workshop on Comprehensive National Plan of Action on Disability, Bangkok, 19-21 Oct 2005

Wei Liu, Statistics Division,
UNESCAP

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Outline of the presentation

• Why Disability Statistics Matters
• WHO/UNESCAP Project on Disability Statistics
• WHO/UNESCAP Follow-up

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Diagnosis of the region’s disability statistics

• Data not sufficient to inform policy
• Disability prevalence is underestimated
• Traditional view of disability (people with visible impairments or in wheelchairs)
• No comparability of data use of international standards and guidelines

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Prevalence of disabled persons

[Bar Chart showing percent prevalence of disabled persons ranging from .5% to 19.5% - conclusion: lack of comparability]

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UN’s work on disability statistics

• Standard setting and methodological guidelines
• Promote the collection of disability statistics
• Improve the dissemination and use of disability data
• Provide forum/networks for experts in disability

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WHO/UNESCAP Project on Improving Disability Data

Goal: to improve disability statistics by applying the ICF framework and using international measurement standards

Target group: statisticians and experts in disability area from 20 countries

Outcome: ability to produce better disability data that meet policy needs

Other Partners: ABS and AIHW

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Traditional questions used to identify persons with disabilities

Screening Question:

Is there anyone in this household who is disabled

If yes...

Follow up question:

What type of disability does ... suffer from?

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WHO/UNESCAP Question Set

For most questions, a severity scale of 5 is used

Example Question:

How much difficulty did you have in seeing and recognizing a person you know across the road?

Response scale

1. None
2. Mild
3. Moderate
4. Severe
5. Extreme/Cannot Do

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ICF Components

• Body Functions and Body Structures
• Activities and Participation
• Environment

Useful website:
http://www3.who.int/icf/icftemplate.cfm

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UNESCAP Countries participating the project

1. Afghanistan
2. Brunei Darussalam
3. Cambodia
4. China
5. DPRK
6. Islamic Republic of Iran
7. Kyrgyzstan
8. Japan
9. Hong Kong, China
10. Laos
11. Macao, China
12. Republic of Korea
13. Singapore
14. Sri Lanka
15. Thailand
16. Vietnam

Pilot Test countries

1. Fiji
2. Indonesia
3. India
4. Mongolia
5. Philippines

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Components of WHO/UNESCAP Disability Project (2004-2005)

Phase 1:

• Training in the use of ICF for disability collection, in standard methodologies and in design of collection tools
• National action plans for improving disability information systems
• Preparation of disability statistics training manual & material

Phase 2:

• Field testing of standard sets of disability questions through identical protocols
• Evaluation of results for application to real data collections
• Building a network of experts

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Accomplishments in the first year of the Project (2004)

• Two training workshops in ICF and in measurement methodologies
• Preparation of national action plans
• Training Manual on disability statistics
• Working on ICF based standard sets of questions for different collection vehicles
• Hosting of the Washington Group on Disability – to develop standard sets of questions

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WHO/UNESCAP Disability Project - Activities in 2005

• Pre-testing of several sets of questions using standard protocols
• Finalization of training kits and development of testing framework
• Regional workshop to train national supervisors, share field testing results and experiences and implementation of national action plans

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Disability statistics in UNESCAP post-2005

1. Follow-up with our pilot countries
2. Field testing in other UNESCAP countries
3. Training and dissemination
4. Contributing to the revision of the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses for the 2010 Census Round

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International Experience - Examples

UN web-site as a valuable resource

• http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/disability/

Recent Regional Meetings

• http://www.unescap.org/stat/meet/widsm3/index.asp

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Summary

• Disability statistics in the region: no comparability
• Recommend the ICF-based statistics
• UNESCAP project on disability statistics
• Disability statistics in UNESCAP post-2005

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