UN Washington Group Report and Next Steps Barbara Altman Daniel Mont Kampala, Uganda October 2006

Presentation Outline Need for Recommendations Proposal For Report Next Steps

Need for Recommendations UN Commission Meeting (March 2007) Discussion Paper Continued existence Upcoming Censuses Disability questions will be included Crucial time to offer guidance Need to do something now. Perfection shouldn’t be the enemy of the good.

Proposal for Report What we agree on: Purpose for census is equalization of opportunities Questions shouldn’t contain the word “disability” Functional approach based on ICF Scaled Responses Four core domains are… Seeing Hearing Walking Cognition

Why those four domains? Basic activity level links up with purpose Captures large proportion of target population Easier to capture Cultural comparability is easier Mode portability (mail, phone, face to face)

Suggestions for Additional Domains Self-care Policy making issue Identifies most vulnerable Communication Link to participation Easier to measure than other important domains

What about other domains? For example, psychological, learning, upper body, etc. Recognize their importance Harder to target on census Some will be picked up by other domains (will re-visit in “Next Steps” section)

Question Wording UN Commission does not recommend specific wording We suggest an appendix that… Lists our questions Provides rationale for wording Reports on test results Appear to identify population relative to domains Numbers and distributions make sense No notable cultural differences Report provides basic framework for disability questions Washington Group endorses use of Q’s as tested

Policymaker Needs Recognize functional questions do not neatly line up with categories policymakers some times need Explain how combinations of questions and various thresholds can be used to approximate needed categories Provide examples of how this can be done

Next Steps Prior to report, resolve glasses/hearing aid clause issue Further analysis to… better understand test results work with UNESCAP to understand discrepancies and identify commonalities Re-visit communication question Technical assistance to countries Special populations (e.g., children) Other methodological concerns (e.g., sampling)

Publication of Test Results Description of process Results of testing Comparisons with other work Sample experiences of countries Limitations of census questions Identify issues for further research

On to Dublin!