Expanding the definition of disability: implications for planning, policy, and research

Disability remains an area that is difficult to define and measure. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with its greater impact on women than on men, is one example of this. People with RA are limited in many areas besides paid work, so to measure this disability only in terms of paid work greatly underestimates its impact on people's lives, particularly those of women. This article reviews the major definitions of disability and reports the results of a national study assessing disability in both family and paid work roles. Both areas reveal high rates of disability among RA patients. The study concludes that measuring disability only in terms of paid work seriously underestimates its prevalence among women. These results have important implications for health policy because the greatest needs of the disabled may be, not in income replacement programs, such as Social Security disability programs, but rather in fortifying family and other care services that would enable people with RA to maintain higher levels of function in all domains of life.