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Measuring disability: An agreement study between two disability measures
John A Bourke1, Allison Nichols-Dunsmuir2, Annabel Begg2
1Burwood Academy of Independent Living, Private Bag 4708, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand; Menzies Health Institute, Griffith University, Queensland, 4222, Australia; Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
The Washington Group Short Set (WGSS) identifies fewer disabilities than binary questions, impacting inclusivity. Different thresholds significantly alter disability prevalence estimates, crucial for policy development.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Social Sciences
Background:
- The Washington Group Short Set (WGSS) is vital for global disability data comparability.
- Concerns exist regarding the WGSS's higher threshold for disability indication compared to binary measures.
- Empirical data is needed to quantify this difference and its policy implications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess agreement between the WGSS and a binary disability question (BDQ).
- To compare disability prevalence using the WGSS with its recommended threshold (WGSS1) and a lower threshold (WGSS2).
- To evaluate the impact of different WGSS thresholds on disability estimates.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional agreement study using the 2018 Canterbury Wellbeing Survey.
- Inclusion of randomly selected adults aged 18 years and older.
- Concurrent administration of the BDQ and two WGSS scenarios (WGSS1 and WGSS2).
Main Results:
- Disability prevalence: BDQ (17.6%), WGSS1 (9.1%), WGSS2 (28.7%) among 2807 participants.
- High concordance (85.3%) but only fair agreement (κ=0.37) between BDQ and WGSS1.
- Asymmetrical discordance, with BDQ identifying more disabled individuals than WGSS1.
Conclusions:
- WGSS thresholds significantly influence disability prevalence estimates.
- The recommended WGSS1 notably reduces disability prevalence compared to BDQ.
- Findings have critical implications for disability policy and inclusivity efforts.
