STATISTICS CANADA 1991 HEALTH AND ACTIVITY SURVEY

[This is from the AbleNews Conference]

STATISTICS CANADA 1991 HEALTH AND ACTIVITY SURVEY
(AMENDED VERSION)
HIGHLIGHTS:
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* 4.2 million Canadians- 15.5 per cent of the population-
reported some level of disability in 1991.

* Disability increases with age- 7 per cent of children under
15 experience some level of disability, compared to 14 per
cent of adults of adults aged 35-to-54 and to 46.3 per cent
of those aged 65-and-over.

* Severity of disability also increases with age- 2.9 per
cent of children with disabilities have a severe disability,
compared to 32.4 per cent for those aged 65-and-over.

* 93.7 per cent of people with disabilities lived in private
households in 1991, compared to 6.3 per cent who lived in
helth-related institutions.

* Among Canadians with disabilities aged 15-to-64, living in
households, mobility disabilities (limited ability to walk,
move or stand) were reported most often, at 52.5 per cent,
followed by agility disabilities (limited ability to bend,
dress or handle small objects) at 50.2 per cent.

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WHAT IS A DISABILITY...?

The 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) uses the
World Health Organization's definition of disability, which is:

".... any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment)
of ability to perform an activity in the manner or withing the
range considered normal for a human being."

Adults were asked questions about various limitations in activities
related to daily living (sensory, mobility, agility or other physical
and psychological abilities, such as eating and talking and thinking)
in order to determine if a disability was present.

Parents reported on the existence of general limitations, chronic
conditions, attendance at a special school or special class and the
use of technical aids for children under the age of 15. A positive
response in ANY of these categories was taken as an indication that
that a disability existed.

The answers to these questions on disability represent the respondents'
PERCEPTION of the situation and are therefore SUBJECTIVE.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, write to:

Statistics Canada,
Arthur Meighen Building,
25 St Clair Ave East,
Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M4.

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P.S.: I note that, one more time, facial disfigurements and burn scars
have been left off the list of questions asked.(!!)
And yet, in terms of social stigma, these are amongst the most
disabling of all disabilities...Isn't it time we DID something
about this omission...????

dr froggie (a.k.a. Arlette)

Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!3602!24!Arlette.Lefebvre
Internet: Arlette.Lefebvre@f24.n3602.z1.fidonet.org