IJERPH, Vol. 18, Pages 9213: Interrogating and Reflecting on Disability Prevalence Data Collected Using the Washington Group Tools: Results from Population-Based Surveys in Cameroon, Guatemala, India, Maldives, Nepal, Turkey and Vanuatu

IJERPH, Vol. 18, Pages 9213: Interrogating and Reflecting on Disability Prevalence Data Collected Using the Washington Group Tools: Results from Population-Based Surveys in Cameroon, Guatemala, India, Maldives, Nepal, Turkey and Vanuatu International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179213 Authors: Mactaggart Hasan Bek Banks Bright Dionicio Hameed Neupane Murthy Orucu Oye Naber Shakespeare Patterson Polack Kuper The Washington Group (WG) tools capture self-reported functional limitations, ranging from 6 domains in the Short Set (SS) to 11 in the Extended Set (ESF). Prevalence estimates can vary considerably on account of differences between modules and the different applications of them. We compare prevalence estimates by WG module, threshold, application and domain to explore these nuances and consider whether alternative combinations of questions may be valuable in reduced sets. We conducted secondary analyses of seven population-based surveys (analyses restricted to adults 18+) in Low- and Middle-Income Countries that used the WG tools. The prevalence estimates using the SS standard threshold (a lot of difficulty or higher in one or more domain) varied between 3.2% (95% Confidence Interval 2.9–3.6) in Vanuatu to 14.1% (12.2–16.2) in Turkey. The prevalence was higher using the ESF than the SS, and much higher (5 to 10-fold) using a wider threshold of “some” or greater difficul...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research