Measuring Disability at Statistics Canada

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Measuring Disability at Statistics Canada
Susan Stobert

• Manager, PALS Survey
• Statistics Canada
• July 13, 2006

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Measuring disability at Statistics Canada

• Topics that will be covered during this
  presentation
• Overview of the post-censal program on
  participation and
• activity limitations
• HALS 1991
• PALS 2001
• PALS 2006
• Census filter questions
• Disability measurement in other Statistics Canada
  surveys
• Methodological evaluation of filter questions

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PALS/HALS Overview

• The Participation and Activity Limitation Survey
  (PALS) is Canadas principal national survey
  focusing on persons with disabilities.
• PALS includes detailed questions about the nature
  and severity of disabilities
• Severity is based on number and degree of
  activity limitations
• Ten types of disabilities are identified
• Information is also gathered about need for and
  access to assistance, education, employment,
  income, housing, transportation and other topics

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Census filter questions 1986 and 1991

• Is this person limited in the kind or amount of
  activity that he/she can do because of a
  long-term physical condition, mental condition or
  health problem
• (a) At home?
• No, not limited
• Yes, limited
• (b) At school or at work?
• No, not limited
• Yes, limited
• Not applicable
• (c) In other activities, e.g., transportation
  to or from work, leisure time activities?
• No, not limited
• Yes, limited
• 2. Does this person have any long-term
  disabilities or handicaps?
• No
• Yes

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HALS 1991 Methodology

• Post-censal survey of persons with disabilities
  living in Canada
• Target population
• children (under 15) and adults (15 years and
  over) living in households in the 10 provinces
  plus the territories
• Sample of 35,000 was selected from the YES sample
  and 113,000 from the NO sample.
• Response rate of 87
• Positive response from 80 of YES sample and 10
  of NO sample.

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After the 1991 Census

• The 1991 PALS yielded an overall disability rate
  of 16.7 (15, non-institutionalized population)
• Collection of the NO sample was very expensive
• 100,000 interviews yielded about 10,000 persons
  with disabilities
• The methodology cannot be used in other surveys
  to develop comparable datasets.
• Development of more global filter questions.
• Decision by Statistics Canada to standardize
  other surveys to consistent disability questions.

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Census filter questions 2001

• 1. Does this person have any difficulty hearing,
  seeing, communicating, walking, climbing stairs,
  bending, learning or doing any similar
  activities?
• Yes, sometimes
• Yes, often No
• 2. Does a physical condition or mental condition
  or health problem reduce the amount or the kind
  of activity this person can do
• (a) At home?
• Yes, sometimes
• Yes, often No
• (b) At work or at school?
• Yes, sometimes
• Yes, often No Not applicable
• (c) In other activities, for example,
  transportation or leisure?
• Yes, sometimes
• Yes, often No

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PALS 2001 Methodology

• Post-censal survey of persons with disabilities
  living in Canada
• Target population
• children (under 15) and adults (15 years and
  over) living in households in the 10 provinces
  who reported an activity limitation in the census
  
• Sample of 35,000 adults, 8,000 children from the
  YES sample in the 2001 Census
• Response rate of 82.5

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Disability Rates By Age Group Canada 1991 and
2001
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Measuring disability

• Survey estimates of the rate of disabilities can
  vary widely - three major factors that contribute
  to different rates of disability found by
  national surveys
• actual changes in the population,
• differences in the definition of disability, and
• differences arising from research methods.

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Results of PALS 2001

• Data from these 2 surveys were not comparable
  because
• New census disability filter questions
• New sampling plan
• New questionnaire content
• New approach to the identification of the
  severity of disability

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Disability questions at Statistics Canada

• Since 1999, the filter questions have been
  incorporated into a variety of major national
  surveys including
• Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics
• Canadian Community Health Survey
• Aboriginal Peoples Survey (2001)
• General Social Survey
• Survey of Household Spending
• Examining the results of these surveys allows an
  analysis of the variability of results.

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Disability measures

• Possible reasons for the differences in estimates
  
• Sampling
• Mode of collection
• Subjective versus objective questions
• Survey context
• Placement of disability questions
• Proxy response
• Language and culture

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PALS 2006

• The 2006 PALS will be collected between October
  2006 and January 2007.
• Target population
• children (under 15) and adults (15 years and
  over) living in households in the 10 provinces
  and 3 territories who reported an activity
  limitation in the census
• Sample of 35,000 adults, 8,000 children from the
  YES sample in the 2006 Census.
• The content will allow for time series
  comparisons.
• New content has been added on aids, care
  received, internet use, workplace training.
• Results will be available by Winter 2007-08.

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Ongoing work

• Effect of sample design
• New content module has been added for respondents
  who answered YES to the census filter but NO to
  PALS questions.
• Post collection one on one interviews with
  selected respondents
• Effect of proxy
• PALS 2006 has included questions on who provided
  the census response to study proxy effect.

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Ongoing work

• Effect of subjective versus objective questions
• Addition of Health Utility Index questions for
  all respondents.
• Effect of survey context and placement
• Study of question placement and context ongoing

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Ongoing work

• Effect of Language and Culture
• Ongoing investigations with the Québec ISQ.
• Focus group testing of filter questions and
  perceptions of disability with Anglophone and
  Francophone participants.
• Focus group testing of filter questions and
  perceptions of disability with recent immigrants.
• Post collection one on one interviews with
  selected respondents.
• Study of disability rates for immigrants by
  ethnicity from the Census.

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Contact

• For information, contact
• Susan Stobert
• Manager, PALS Survey
• susan.stobert_at_statcan.ca