Johns Hopkins International Injury Unit Publishes Results of Study on New Disability Screening Instrument
The World Health Organization estimates that of the more than 1 billion people who live with some degree of disability, nearly 80% are located in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where there is little or no access to appropriate services. Reliable health data is scarce as well, with information on disabilities either unavailable or limited by measurement methodology.
This is especially true in Africa. In Uganda, for example, several attempts have been made to estimate the prevalence of disability, all with differing results, mainly due to variations in methodology. With such a dearth of reliable health data, sentinel surveillance systems in LMICs can be an invaluable tool to fill in gaps data and help guide program planning and implementation. Demographic Surveillance Sites (DSS) are a kind of sentinel surveillance system that monitor health and soci-economic indicators like births, deaths, causes of death, and migration within a defined population over time.
To address the disability measurement gap in LMICs, the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research (JH-IIRU) team members, including assistant professor and associate director Abdulgafoor Bachani, sr. technical advisor David Bishai and director Adnan Hyder participated in a study to assess the prevalence and types of disability present at the Iganga-Mayuge Demographic Surveillance System in Uganda (IM-DSS) by applying a new instrument to screen for physical disabilities at the IM-DSS. They recently published the results of the study in BMJ Open.
The instrument, a modified version of the short set of questions proposed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, which cover six functional domains—vision, hearing, mobility, self-care, cognition and communication—was applied at household level where information was collected on all individuals over the age of five. The main objectives were to obtain the overall prevalence of physical disabilities at the site; to understand what types of disabilities are present at the site; and to look into the risk factors associated with physical disability at the site.
Results showed that this set of questions can be readily applied in a DSS setting and can provide estimates on disability that are comparable across regions and populations, thus creating an opportunity to develop population-based data to inform national health policies and evaluate innovations assessing the burden of disability in Uganda.
To access “A new screening instrument for disability in low-income and middle-income settings: application at the Iganga-Mayuge Demographic Surveillence System (IM-DSS) Uganda,” click here.