Detection of the disabled in a rural area

A rural Jewish and Arab population of about 24,000 was selected for a rehabilitation study on the disabled. The detection consisted of the collection of existing data from local sources and a door-to-door screening based on an interview schedule. About 22,000 (93%) individuals responded to the interview. In subjects under the age of 65, the degree of agreement between the findings of the door-to-door screening and the information obtained from official local sources was 45.4% among disabled Jewish villagers, and 24% for disabled Arab villagers. On the other hand, in the same age group, the door-to-door interview failed to reveal between 12 to 18% of the subjects reported as disabled by the various local authorities. The reason for this low percentage of agreement is discussed. The disablement rate in the 0- to 13-year age group was 9% for Arab and 12.5% for Jewish children. In the working age group (14 to 64 years) the disablement rate was 5.3% for Arabs and 7.9% for Jews. More than 30% of both Arabs and Jews in this age group had impairments and chronic conditions that did not interfere with their functioning in normal life. In the pensionable age group (65+ years), 8.3% of Arab villagers and 2.3% of Jewish villagers were totally dependent. Special efforts were made to detect the functional limitations of housewives and of the homebound. The interview schedule had a marked educational effect on the professionals and on the villagers. This facilitated the establishment of a rural rehabilitation service in an Arab village, the first service of its kind in Israel.