The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #57570

Susan Kinne, PhD, Center for Disability Policy and Research, University of Washington, 146 N Canal Street #313, Seattle, WA 98103, (206) 685 4769, susaki@u.washington.edu

Individual or household telephone surveys are the most common way to collect population, health and economic data on people with disabilities, although there are significant questions about the degree to which these methods exclude people with some kinds of limitations. With the release of population disability data from the Long Form of the 2000 Census, it is possible to address some of these questions by comparing Census to telephone survey estimates of disability prevalence and demographics. In 2000 the Washington State Office of Financial Management conducted the State Population Survey (SPS), a random digit dial household survey of the Washington population based on the Current Population Survey. The household head in 6,726 households was asked about the 17,697 individuals age 5 and older in those households, including their disability status as measured by the six 2000 Census disability questions. The SPS sample was weighted to match the age, sex and race of the Washington State population. The people with disabilities identified by the SPS had significantly less education, higher household poverty and included fewer Hispanics and more Native Americans than the Census disability population. The SPS found higher population prevalence of overall disability (21.4% vs 18.2%), physical, mental and sensory disability and lower rates of work and going-outside-the-home disability than did the Census. This supports the hypothesis that the SPS disability sample is not statistically representative of the Washington population of people with disabilities, but some of the discrepancies are not those we might expect.

Learning Objectives:

• identify important aspects of Census 2000 disability data collection
• understand differences in disability sample composition resulting from different data collection methods
• understand the consequences of bias in the composition of disability population samples collected by telephone

Keywords: Surveillance,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: State of Washington Office of Financial Management (public use data from telephone survey conducted by this agency)
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.