04/19/23

Monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities…… and the work of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics

Mitchell LoebNational Center for Health Statistics, USAfor the Washington Group on Disability Statistics

04/19/23

The Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG)• In June of 2001, the UN International

Seminar on the Measurement of Disability recommended the development of principles and standard forms for global indicators of disability to be used in censuses

• There was a broad consensus on the need for population based measures of disability for country use and for international comparisons

04/19/23

The WG was set up to: • Foster international cooperation in the

area of health and disability statistics• Untangle the web of confusing and

conflicting disability estimates• Develop a short set of general disability

measures • Develop extended set/s of items to

measure disability on population surveys• Address methodological issues associated

with disability measurement

04/19/23

Health Condition(disorder/disease)

Body Function &Structure (Impairment)

Activities(Limitation)

Participation(Restriction)

EnvironmentalFactors

PersonalFactors

Source: World Health Organization, 2001

The ICF Model

04/19/23

Purpose: Equalization of opportunities

• Seeks to identify all those at greater risk than the general population for limitations in participation

• Disability as a demographic 0

30

60

90

Prop

ortion

(%

)

Nondisabled Disabled

% Employed

04/19/23

WG questions for censuses: Because of a Health problem:1) Do you have difficulty seeing even if wearing glasses?2) Do you have difficulty hearing even if using a hearing

aid?3) Do you have difficulty walking or climbing stairs?4) Do you have difficulty remembering or concentrating?5) Do you have difficulty with (self-care such as) washing

all over or dressing?6) Using your usual (customary) language, do you have

difficulty communicating (for example understanding or being understood by others)?

Response categories: No - no difficulty; Yes - some difficulty; Yes - a lot of difficulty; Cannot do at all

04/19/23

Intended use of data• Compare levels of participation in

employment, education, or family life for those with disability versus those without to see if persons with disability have achieved social inclusion

• Monitor effectiveness of programs / policies to promote full participation

• Monitor prevalence trends for persons with limitations in specific basic activity domains

Apr 19, 2023 8

Can the WG questions be used to monitor the UN Convention?

UN Convention (2006): Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

04/19/23

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

• represents an international milestone by acknowledging the shift in attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities that have been evolving over the past few decades.

• recognizes that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and the barriers (both attitudinal and environmental) that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

04/19/23

Applicability of the WG Questions to the UN Convention

• The WG chose to develop questions that would address a specific aspect of the disablement process, the issue of whether persons with disability participate to the same extent as persons without disabilities in activities such as education, employment or family/civic life, in other words, the equalization of opportunities.

04/19/23

The equalization of opportunities:

• is one of the general principles listed in Article 3 of the Convention (General principles) and the focus of Article 5 (Equality and Non-discrimination).

• is also relevant to the collection of data for policy purposes outlined in Article 31 (Statistics and data collection) and will facilitate the monitoring of participation in cultural life, leisure, and recreation (Article 30), and work & employment (Article 27).

04/19/23

How to Use the WG Questions to Monitor the UN Convention (I) • In order to address the equalization of

opportunities for persons with disabilities it is necessary to identify those who are at greater risk than the general population of experiencing limited participation in society.

• The recommended short set of questions will identify the majority of the population with difficulties in functioning in basic actions; difficulties that have the potential to limit independent living or social integration if appropriate accommodation is not made.

04/19/23

How to Use the WG Questions to Monitor the UN Convention (II)

• Coupled with other information collected through the Census or survey on, for example, employment, education, or family & social life, these questions can be used to identify those at risk and compare the levels of participation between those with disability and those without – and thereby assess equitable access to opportunities as mandated by the UN Convention.

04/19/23

For example:• Data on difficulty in performing basic

actions can be cross-classified with a measure of employment to identify the proportion of persons with and without disability who are employed.

• This is an assessment of the equality of employment opportunities.

• If policy interventions are initiated to enhance workplace accommodations, the effect on employment of persons with disability can be determined.

04/19/23

For example:

• In addition to employment, it will be important to collect data on a variety of forms of participation, such as education, housing, transportation, social and health services, in addition to aspects of family, cultural and social life.

• From a theoretical perspective, if opportunities have been optimized, then participation should be equal between persons with and without disability.

04/19/23

Standardized Approach to Monitoring the UN Convention

• By standardizing these questions it will be possible to provide comparable data cross-nationally for populations living in a variety of cultures with varying economic resources;

• data that can be used to assess a country’s compliance with the UN Convention and, over time, their improvement in meeting the requirements set out under the Convention.

Apr 19, 2023 17

Access to Education and Employment by Disability Status

% never attended school (6 years or older)

% not working (15 – 65 years)

Determination of DisabilityNot

disabled DisabledNot

disabled Disabled

Cut-off is:

at least 1 domain is some 8.2 22.8 42.3 49.4

at least 1 domain is a lot 8.8 23.3 41.9 55.3

at least 1 domain is unable 9.8 37.2 42.7 71.7

> 1 domain is some difficulty 9.5 24.7 42.6 58.0

04/19/23

Access to Education and Employment by Disability Status – over time

An example from Zambia

Disability status

2006 2009

Notdisabled

DisabledNot

disabledDisabled

% never attended school (6 years or older) 8.8 23.3 8.2 16.9

% not working (15 – 65 years) 41.9 55.3 39.1 47.6