Disability--Global Trends and International Perspectives

Abstract

Disability among populations is widespread and although many studies on disability exist worldwide there is a lack of comparability between countries and also between studies in the same country. Yet despite a lack of clarity, disability is an increasingly major issue in public policy terms from the standpoints of equal opportunities, the increasing burden of age-related disability, work participation, social security benefits and so forth. One of the main problems is that disability is defined differently for different purposes so that there is no consistent overview of disability among populations, or the implications for disability policies. The first part of this paper addresses these deficiencies by reviewing and analysing global data on disability and relating it to ageing, health status, and functional measures of disability. It finds that a major cause of disability in future years will be ageing but that the prevalence of disability will depend on socio-economic factors and trends in healthy life expectancy. The second part of the paper considers policies for tackling disability, particularly the financial aspects and the role of the public and private sectors, and finds a multiplicity of institutional arrangements in place. The paper concludes by identifying five major issues for public policy--economic development, ageing and long-term care, the importance of developing work potential, and the need for international standards in the area of disability data.