Washington Group on Disability Statistics

Fourteenth Meeting

Related Pages
On This Page

October 8-10 2014: Buenos Aires, Argentina

 

Overview

The 14th meeting of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) was held 8-10 October 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The primary focus of the meeting was a presentation from the workgroup on child functioning and disability on the proposed final Module on Child Functioning and Disability and manual for implementation.

The final update of analysis of country experiences measuring disability using the WG Short Set (SS) questions on surveys and censuses were presented. This was followed by a review of the guidelines for analyses of the WG Extended Set questions on Functioning (ES-F) using data from the US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Updates were also provided by the workgroups exploring the development of measures specific to mental health and the use of data registers n the compilation of disability statistics.

In addition to reports on other Washington Group related activities, updates were provided on behalf of partner organizations with respect to their recent activities related to disability statistics, and the Steering Committee chair led a discussion on strategic issues including planning next steps.

 

Detailed Meeting Program

 

Objectives

  1. Present a final update of analyses of results of country data collection using the WG Short Question Set (WG SS)
  2. Review and approve guidelines for analyzing data obtained from the Washington Group Extended Question Set on Functioning (WS ES-F)
  3. Present additional work on the WG/UNICEF Module on Child Functioning and Disability
  4. Review progress in the development of module on inclusive education
  5. Review progress of new WG initiatives
  6. Review recent international activities in disability statistics
  7. Approve work plan

 

Papers and Presentations

 

Session 1: Opening Session

A review of developments since the last meeting; and a review of the objectives and agenda for the 14th meeting were provided.

 

Session 2: WG Short Set

Country experiences and results using the WG Short Set (SS) questions were presented in the session. The session also included a discussion on recent developments related to the WG Short measure questions and implementation of the WG SS in the next round of Census.

 

Session 3: WG Extended Set on Functioning

A brief review of the development of the Extended Set on Functioning (ES-F) was presented; followed by a presentation of proposed guidelines for analyzing data obtained from the WG ES-F using the US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Documents
  1. Development of Extended Set of Disability Measures for Surveys Cdc-pdf[PDF – 135 KB]
  1. The Matrix (Workplan for the development of the Extended Question Sets) Cdc-pdf[PDF – 79 KB]
  1. The Washington Group Extended Set on Functioning (WG ES-F) Cdc-pdf[PDF – 49 KB]

Session 4: Methodological Issues Concerning Surveys – Child Disability

A review of additional work on the Module on Child Functioning and Disability was provided during this session; followed by a presentation of cognitive testing results and the finalization of the question module. The session also included a review of UNICEF’s work on the development of the module on inclusive education for children and an overview of the manuals for both modules. The session concluded with a discussion of the next steps for the workgroup on child disability and two presentations on experiences using an earlier version of the Module on Child Functioning and Disability.

 

Documents

Session 5: Methodological Issues Concerning Surveys – Mental Health

This session included a review of the work on the development of questions designed to measure mental health; followed by a discussion of the next steps for the workgroup.

 

Session 6: Methodological Issues Concerning Surveys – Data Registers

This session included an overview of the overview of the development of the Saudi National Disability Registry (SNDR) and a review of work on the use of data registers to compile disability statistics in Aruba.
 


Session 7: Country Reports

A summary of the annual reports on national activities related to disability statistics was provided. This session also included presentations on individual country activities in Argentina and Colombia. Following the presentations on country activities, the chair of the WG steering committee led a discussion on developing strategies for analysis, implementation, and dissemination of data collected using the WG questions.

 

Session 8: Next Steps and Objectives for the 15th

The WG Steering Committee chair led a discussion providing updates on governance issues; summarizing the accomplishments of the 14th meeting; outlining of the next steps; and closing remarks.

 

Executive Summary

 

Contacts

 

Workgroup Contacts

The workgroups will present status reports at the 15th meeting of the WG. Chairs have been identified and will serve as the contact for each workgroup. Information on the workgroup topics and chairs are provided below. WG members who wish to volunteer to participate in one of these groups are to contact the workgroup chairs.

  • Workgroup on Child Disability
    Chair: Mitchell Loeb, USA
    This workgroup is charged with the development of specific question modules designed to measure disability among children.
  • Workgroup on Environmental Factors and Participation
    Chair: Barbara Altman, USA
    This workgroup is charged with designing extended set questions for the measurement of environmental factors including both barriers and facilitators.
  • Workgroups on Mental Health and Data Registers
    The development of measures specific to mental health and the use of data registers for the compilation of disability statistics were initially presented for discussion at the 13th meeting. Proposals were made for the creation of workgroups to address these tasks. Since the 13th meeting, two workgroups have been formed to determine the feasibility of addressing these tasks. The workgroups continue to pursue these initiatives and will provide updates on the status of their work at future WG meetings. Individuals interested in leading or participating in either of these workgroups should contact the WG Secretariat.

 

Meeting Contacts

Cordell Golden
Statistician
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Room 6429
Hyattsville, MD 20782 (USA)
Telephone: 301-458-4237
Fax: 301-458-4038
E-mail: CGolden@cdc.gov

Mitchell Loeb 
Health Scientist
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Room 6435
Hyattsville, MD 20782 (USA)
Telephone: 301-458-4248
Fax: 301-458-4037
E-mail: MLoeb@cdc.gov

Julie Weeks
Chief
Aging and Chronic Disease Statistics Branch
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Room 6209
Hyattsville, MD 20782 (USA)
Telephone: 301-458-4562
Fax: 301-458-4038
E-mail: JWeeks@cdc.gov

Jennifer Madans
Associate Director for Science
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Room 7202
Hyattsville, MD 20782 (USA)
Telephone: 301-458-4500
Fax: 301-458-4020
E-mail: JMadans@cdc.gov

Page last reviewed: November 6, 2015
Content source: National Center for Health Statistics