Abstract
The Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) was formed in response to a recommendation made at the United Nations (UN) International Seminar on the Measurement of Disability in New York in 2001. This chapter describes the history of the WG, its governance structure, terms for membership, annual meetings, major accomplishments, and the extensive technical assistance provided to its member states.
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Notes
- 1.
City groups are informal groups of experts primarily from national statistical agencies. Participation by representatives is voluntary. The groups are named after the location of the first meeting.
- 2.
The Budapest Initiative Task Force on Measuring Health Status (BI), established 2005, is a collaboration of, among others, the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and Eurostat. This consortium was charged with the task of developing a short form questionnaire intended to provide the basis for the collection of comparable standardized information on population health focusing on health state. The BI defines health state in terms of functioning in a core set of health domains; and, like the WG, the BI has based the development of its questionnaire on a conceptual framework: the ICF.
Reference
Altman, B. M., & Barnartt, S. (Eds.). (2006) International views on disability measures: moving toward comparative measurement. Research in social science and disability series (Vol. 4). London: Elsevier.
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Appendices
Appendices
Appendix I – The Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability
Introductory Phrase
The next questions ask about difficulties you may have doing certain activities because of a HEALTH PROBLEM.
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1.
Do you have difficulty seeing, even if wearing glasses?
-
(a)
No – no difficulty
-
(b)
Yes – some difficulty
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(c)
Yes – a lot of difficulty
-
(d)
Cannot do at all
-
(a)
-
2.
Do you have difficulty hearing, even if using a hearing aid?
-
(a)
No – no difficulty
-
(b)
Yes – some difficulty
-
(c)
Yes – a lot of difficulty
-
(d)
Cannot do at all
-
(a)
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3.
Do you have difficulty walking or climbing steps?
-
(a)
No – no difficulty
-
(b)
Yes – some difficulty
-
(c)
Yes – a lot of difficulty
-
(d)
Cannot do at all
-
(a)
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4.
Do you have difficulty remembering or concentrating?
-
(a)
No – no difficulty
-
(b)
Yes – some difficulty
-
(c)
Yes – a lot of difficulty
-
(d)
Cannot do at all
-
(a)
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5.
Do you have difficulty (with self-care such as) washing all over or dressing?
-
(a)
No – no difficulty
-
(b)
Yes – some difficulty
-
(c)
Yes – a lot of difficulty
-
(d)
Cannot do at all
-
(a)
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6.
Using your usual (customary) language, do you have difficulty communicating, for example understanding or being understood?
-
(a)
No – no difficulty
-
(b)
Yes – some difficulty
-
(c)
Yes – a lot of difficulty
-
(d)
Cannot do at all
-
(a)
Appendix II – List of Articles and Books Based on WG Activities or Utilizing the WG Short Set Questions
Articles based on WG activities:
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1.
Maitland A, K. Miller, M. Loeb, and J. Madans. The Development and Evaluation of Disability Measures Using a Mixed-Method Approach; Proceedings of the 10th Conference on Health Survey Research Methods; Survey Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Chicago, April 8–11, 2011. Available online at: http://www.srl.uic.edu/hsrm/HSRM10_intro&session1.pdf
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2.
Miller K., D. Mont, A. Maitland, B. Altman, and J. Madans. Results of a cross-national structured cognitive interviewing protocol to test measures of disability. Quality & Quantity, 2011; 45(4): 801–815.
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3.
Loeb M. Disability Statistics: and integral but missing (and misunderstood) component of development work. NJHR, 2013; 31(3):306–24.
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4.
Madans J.H. and M.E. Loeb. Methods to Improve International Comparability of Census and Survey Measures of Disability. Disability & Rehabilitation, 2013; 35(13):1070–3.
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5.
Loeb M. A White Paper on Disability Measurement. Journal for Disability and International Development, 2012; 1:4-11. Available online at: http://www.zbdw.de/projekt01/media/pdf/2012_1_BiE.pdf
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6.
Madans J.H., M.E. Loeb, and B.M. Altman. Measuring Disability and Monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: the work of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics. BMC Public Health, 2011; 11(Suppl 4):S4
Articles that operationalize the WG Short Set in research:
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1.
Trani J-F and M. Loeb. Poverty and disability: A vicious circle? Evidence from Afghanistan and Zambia. Journal of International Development, January 2012; 24(Suppl S1):S19-S52.
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2.
Loeb M.E., A.H. Eide, and D. Mont. Approaching the measurement of disability prevalence: the case of Zambia. ALTER: European Journal of Disability Research, 2008; 2(1):32-43.
Book based on early work of Washington Group:
-
1.
Altman, B.M. and Barnartt, S. (co-editors) International Views on Disability Measures: Moving Toward Comparative Measurement, Research in Social Science and Disability Series, Vol. 4, London, England: Elsevier Publishers, January 2006.
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Golden, C. (2016). Washington Group Meetings, Processes and Milestones. In: Altman, B. (eds) International Measurement of Disability. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 61. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28498-9_3
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