How is the concept of disability understood? | Survey and databases define disability in a range of ways. Some focus narrowly on impairment, while others are also interested in issues of participation, access and support needs. The range of disability domains that a data collection tool considers (mobility, sight, hearing, intellectual, etc.) will also influence who is recorded as having a disability. In different cultural contexts, the concept of disability varies. This influences who is identified, and who self-identifies, as a person with a disability. For example, age-related impairments or impairments acquired during conflicts are not everywhere identified as disabilities. |
Is stigma a factor? | In many situations, disabilities are hidden or misunderstood because disability is stigmatized. This can affect the quality of data collection, both because persons with disabilities may be reluctant to identify themselves, may be concealed or may not be acknowledged by their families, and because enumerators and humanitarian staff may also have biases. Direct questions (such as ‘Do you have a disability?’) that require binary responses (‘Yes’ or ‘No’) often result in underreporting, because of stigma or because respondents differ in their idea of what disability is. In addition, disability data may be sensitive for political reasons. |
What ‘counts’ as a disability? | Disability exists on a spectrum; a person has a lesser or greater degree of disability. Data collections may set different thresholds for who is and who is not considered as having a disability. |
For what purpose was data collected? | The purpose for which data are collected influences who is surveyed and who is identified as having a disability. For example, a health survey, a general population census and a household livelihood survey may adopt different criteria to identify persons with disabilities. |
Does the sample have a limited reach? | Some persons with disabilities, notably those who are isolated in the home or live in institutions, may not be included in data collection processes. This issue particularly affects children with disabilities. |
Are data up to date? | Data collected pre-crisis may no longer reflect the demography of an area post-crisis. Large-scale population outflows and inflows change population profiles, while both conflicts and disasters increase the number and proportion of persons with disabilities. |