Trends and differentials in disability: challenges in measurement

To successfully address the challenges of rapid population ageing, it is essential to have an understanding of health status. In this study, we describe regional variations in health status by assessing self-rated health and functional disability of older population in India. The study uses the data from the World Health Organization sponsored “Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE-INDIA)” of 2007. This pioneering survey gathered information from 6560 persons (aged 50 years and over) from six Indian states. Analysis indicates that older population from urban areas is more likely to experience better health status and lower disability. Education plays a very crucial role in better health status and lower disability, irrespective of urban-rural differences. It also shows that higher years of education and better economic status of the households are positively related with better health condition and lower disability. Social security measures, including pensions and health insurance are crucial to ensure quality of life and well-being of older population in India.

Owing to the decline in fertility, mortality, and improvement in longevity, the number of the older persons is increasing in India. To successfully address the challenges of the rapidly growing older population, it is essential to have an understanding of wellbeing of the older population. In this study, we examine the socio-demographic differentials with respect to health status, functional disability, and quality of life of the older population in India. The study uses the data from the World Health Organization sponsored “Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE-INDIA)” of 2007. This pioneering survey gathered information from 6560 persons (aged 50 years and over) from six Indian states. All the three indicators of wellbeing shows that wellbeing is better for males than females, and that wellbeing deteriorates with increasing age. Wellbeing is positively associated with higher levels of education and economic status. This study shows that the outcome indicators vary significantly by socio-demographic characteristics. Any programme aimed at improving the wellbeing of the older population should be targeted to those who are poor, the aged, female, and uneducated. Social security measures, including pensions and health insurance are also crucial in ensuring the quality of life and wellbeing of the older population in India.

This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of program implementation for disable persons which is attached in the MDGs program in Indonesia. The MDGs program with its implementation for specific target achievement should be included for all population groups. Furthermore, this paper will also observe whether exist or not the progress of MDGs achievement would be followed by the increment of disability development. This disability development is identified by the available access on some compulsory public services and aids for disable persons. The method of research will apply a historical design based on primary and secondary macro data set. The main data set is derived from the Indonesian Population Census 2010. To strengthen analysis result will be enriched by literature study and other sources which are related to this topic research. The analysis method will be used a descriptive analysis and a simple statistical test in order to test the significance program implementation. Finally, the research result is expected to support policy maker and decision maker for refining the inclusion disability program into MDGs program simultaneously in the achievement development program.

Key words: MDGs, disability, inclusion program and development

This paper aims to assess Dimension of Disability in India. It also investigates whether this is declining with time or not. For this purpose data are taken from base line of Annual Health Survey (AHS) conducted by ORGI in 2010-11. The indicators of Disability considered in this study are: mental, Visual, Hearing, speech and locomotors. An index is prepared for each indicator and states are ranked on the basis of this index. Results of the study show that Disability has declined in some of the states. For example, at the national level, difference in the proportion of male and female declined. In rural India, the prevalence of disability was much higher as compared to that in its urban counterpart. Among males, the prevalence of disability was significantly higher than that among females. The prevalence rate among SC population was marginally higher as compared to the general population; while among ST population, it was noticeably lower.

Indonesia is on two tectonic plates and volcanic sequence led Indonesia is prone to earthquakes track both tectonic and volcanic. The important thing is often forgotten by society and the government are in addition to the dead there are also survivors who became disability. Disability as a vulnerable group, has a heavy burden compared to other survivors. Another important issue is a disaster early warning system is still weak, and yet have a disaster mitigation system for disability. The research was conducted in the Province of Aceh in 2012. The purpose of this study was to review the mitigation system with priority persons with disabilities. One of the things that are related to health care for those with disabilities. How they can access health care and how theirs health during before and after the disaster. This research used qualitative with indepth interviews. The results of this study are in the Provinces of Aceh does not have a special local regulation of natural disasters, especially for disability. But since 2011, all Acehnese society is no exception with disabilities can freely access health services.

Keywords: disability, health, natural disaster

Japan’s extraordinary low level of old-age mortality is well documented compared to other countries. Less well understood is how the health of the Japanese older population fares relative to other countries, and whether differences persist in consistent ways across major domains of morbidity – chronic diseases, functioning and disability. To the extent that Japan’s low mortality is brought about by the postponement of disease and its sequelae, we would expect to see cross-national differences in the timing of morbidity across all major domains. Here, we compare Japanese mortality and morbidity to the mortality and morbidity experiences of older populations in Taiwan and the US. We draw on demographic models of healthy life expectancy to summarize how major domains of morbidity combine with all-cause mortality to produce cross-national differences in the years of life with and without major types of morbidity. We use a simulation approach to evaluate how morbidity/mortality timing shapes the cross-national differences in healthy life expectancy. By using Japan as a standard, this study will provide unique insights into the possible morbidity avenues by which a population’s health can be significantly improved.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls for Member States to collect statistical and research data to enable them to formulate and implement policies that would improve the lives of persons with disabilities. The importance of improving statistical information on disability in order to develop internationally comparable indicators for purposes of policy design have been stressed by the UN General Assembly. This presentation will provide an overview of the work carried out by Children's Work-Group of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG). In particular, the development of a survey questionnaire module designed to compile statistics on child functioning and disability. The primary purpose in developing these questions is to investigate the opportunities of participation of children with disabilities compared with same age children taking account the definition of disability set out in the CRPD. The questionnaire module is intended to identify the majority of those with difficulties in a range of ICF-CY domains. The presentation will outline the domains and questions developed as well as anticipated cognitive and pilot testing of questions developed.

Disability is conceptualized as arising from the interaction of a person’s functional status with their physical, cultural, and policy environments. If the environment one lives in is designed for the full range of human functioning and incorporates appropriate accommodations and support mechanisms, then people with functional limitations would be able to fully participate in society. The equalization of opportunities is among the major targets of the UN Convention on the Rights of Person’s with Disabilities – and was selected as the purpose for developing the set of questions described here. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) developed by the World Health Organization has played a pivotal role in realizing this conceptualisation of disability. This approach to disability has required the development of new measurement tools for use in both censuses and surveys. Earlier impairment-based approaches to disability measurement focused on medical conditions and asked some variation of the question: Do you have a disability? The current focus of measurement expresses the social model of disability and has shifted to eliciting experienced difficulties in functioning in a set of basic action domains.

Background: Inequalities in disabilities act as a brake on economic growth and development. As there is no direct mortality associated with disabilities, they remain at the bottom of the government’s priority list. So the studies related to disability in India are limited. Moreover, none of the studies used the inequality measures to understand the inequality in occurrence of these disabilities.
Objective: We use data from India Human Development Survey conducted in 2004-05 to test the hypotheses: Occurrence of different kinds of disabilities is not associated with economic condition of the population.
Methods: The present study had measured four outcome variables: locomotor disability, visual impairment, hearing impairment and speech disability. Persons who were unable to perform their chores or performed with difficulty were taken as disable.
Bivariate analyses rich-poor ratio, Concentration curves, adjusted concentration indices, dominance test were used to understand economic inequality. Binary logistic regression models and Wald test were also used.
Results: Findings of the study reject our hypothesis. Findings suggest huge socio-economic inequalities in the occurrence of different kinds of disability. Poorer sections of the society have the disproportionately higher prevalence of all types of disability.

Norwegian mortality levels have been declining during the last decades. Simultaneously the proportion of the population receiving disability pension has been increasing substantially, especially among the women. Several previous studies have demonstrated a higher mortality of disability pensioners relative to the rest of the population. We investigate how the mortality level of people on - and not on - disability pension changes over time by applying population registry data for cohort analysis. We observe mortality over the period 1971-2010. Preliminary results show that relative mortality levels of female disability pensioners have declined substantially over the last decades.