Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 26, 2025
11:29
Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools
Published on: June 20, 2020
9.2K
Comparing Measures Of Functional Difficulty With Self-Identified Disability: Implications For Health Policy
Jean P Hall1, Noelle K Kurth2, Catherine Ipsen3
1Jean P. Hall (jhall@ku.edu), University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.
Health Affairs (Project Hope)
|October 3, 2022
Summary
Federal disability surveys using the American Community Survey (ACS-6) and Washington Group Short Set (WG-SS) questions often miss people with disabilities, particularly those with psychiatric or chronic health conditions, hindering accurate health disparity research.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
- Disability Studies
Background:
- The Affordable Care Act mandated improved data collection on disability to address health disparities.
- Federal surveys commonly use the American Community Survey six-item set (ACS-6), while international surveys often use the Washington Group Short Set (WG-SS).
- Accurate identification of people with disabilities is crucial for understanding health disparities and planning services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of the ACS-6 and WG-SS in identifying disabilities using data from the National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD).
- To assess the performance of these question sets in capturing specific disability types, including psychiatric and chronic health conditions.
Main Methods:
- The study utilized data from the National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD), focusing on working-age adults (18-64).
- Responses from the ACS-6 and WG-SS were compared against self-reported disability types identified through other NSHD questions.
- Performance was evaluated based on the percentage of respondents with self-reported disabilities missed by each question set.
Main Results:
- The ACS-6 failed to identify 20% of respondents with disabilities, while the WG-SS missed 43%.
- A broader version of the WG-SS missed only 4.4% of respondents.
- Both the ACS-6 and WG-SS performed poorly in identifying individuals with psychiatric disabilities or chronic health conditions.
Conclusions:
- Current federal disability survey questions (ACS-6 and WG-SS) are insufficient for accurately counting disability prevalence.
- Augmenting or strengthening federal disability questions is necessary to improve the understanding of health disparities.
- Enhanced data collection is vital for effective service planning for the diverse population of people with disabilities.
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