Summary
‘Disability’ is an umbrella term for any or all of impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions, as influenced by environmental factors; disability is defined in the context of health, and health conditions and personal factors are also part of the interactive model (WHO 2001; see more discussion in Section 1.2).
Despite the acknowledged links between health and disability, there has not been a great deal of analysis on how they relate to each other. Disability or aged care policies and programs frequently focus on activity limitations (for instance, limitations in mobility) and participation restrictions (for instance, restrictions in employment); these programs often provide personal assistance, aids or environmental modifications but do not usually delve into the related health condition.
Related population analyses focus on ‘disability’ as a summary measure in its own right—for instance, in terms of the numbers of people in the population needing assistance with mobility activities. Health-focused analyses that also look at disability may, in contrast, seek to explain health outcomes (or ‘burdens’ or costs) in terms of ‘disabilities’ attributed, by some means, to specific health conditions. Where multiple health conditions and/or multiple disabilities exist, these analyses pose difficult problems. ‘Disability’ in the population then becomes a complex and constructed summary measure, apportioned among and combined across a range of health conditions.
Preliminary material: List of tables; List of boxes; Forward; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Glossary; Overview of the report
1. Introduction
1.1 Why this report
1.2 Background and broad approach
1.3 Structure of the report
2. Main data sources and definitions
2.1 ABS 2001 National Health Survey
2.2 The study of the burden of disease and injury in Australia
2.3 The ABS 1998 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers
3. Prevalence of disability and long-term health conditions
3.1 Main data sources: some differences
3.2 Prevalence estimates of long-term conditions - a comparison of three data sources
3.3 Prevalence estimates of health conditions and impairments/limitations associated with disability
3.4 Trends in the prevalence of disability and long-term conditions
Sections 4-6
4. Severity of disability in relation to health conditions - measures on impairments/limitations and disabling conditions
4.1 Measures and main data items
4.2 Likelihood of 'disability' defined by the ABS disability survey screening questions
4.3 Likelihood of being reported as main disabling condition
4.4 Multiple associated conditions and co-morbidity
5. Severity of disability in relation to health conditions - five measures on activities and participation
5.1 Measures and main data items
5.2 Likelihood of severe or profound core activity restrictions, with a given impairment or limitation
5.3 Likelihood of severe or profound core activity restrictions, for selected health conditions
5.4 Number of core activities in which help is needed, for selected health conditions
5.5 Frequency of need for help with core activities, for selected health conditions
5.6 Level of participation restrictions in employment
6. Disability, health conditions and other factors - multivariate analyses
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Statistical analysis
6.3 Factors associated with severe or profound core activity restriction (model A)
6.4 Factors associated with frequency of help needed in the three core activities for those who have disabilities (model B)
6.5 Factors associated with amount of assistance received from carers (model C)
6.6 Discussion
7. Summary and conclusion
7.1 Estimating the prevalence of health conditions related to disability
7.2 Disability and related health conditions
7.3 Alternative measures of severity
7.4 Disability, health conditions and other factors: multivariate analyses
7.5 Contrasting disability-focused and health-focused analyses
7.6 Environmental factors
7.7 Conclusion
Appendixes:
Appendix 1 Grouping of disabling conditions
Appendix 2 Tables
End matter: References