CENSUS BUREAU DATA ON DISABILITY The United States Bureau of the Census provides data on disability based on three primary sources: the Survey of Income and Program Participation(SIPP), the decennial census of population, and the Current Population Survey(CPS). The SIPP, a national household survey that began in 1984, has featured a design in which a panel of households entered the survey at the beginning of each calendar year and were interviewed at four month intervals over a period of two years or more (the 1996 panel design is different; a larger panel of households will be followed over a three year period and no new panels will be introduced until interviews with the 1996 panel are complete). An extensive and reasonably consistent set of disability questions was asked in the 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993 SIPP panels; earlier panels also contained sets of questions relating to disability but the earlier sets were not as extensive or consistent as the later ones. The long-form questionnaires used in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 decennial censuses contained questions about disability status. The 1970 census had questions about work disability, the 1980 census had questions about work disability and the ability to use public transportation, and the 1990 census had questions about work disability, the ability to go outside the home alone, and the ability to take care of personal needs. The third data set, the CPS, identifies persons who are out of the labor force because of a disability and, in each March survey since 1980, identifies persons who have a health problem which "prevents them from working or limits the kind or amount of work they can do". The extensive set of disability questions that have been asked in SIPP makes it the preferred source for examining most disability issues. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) defines disability as a "physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities". For person 15 years old and over, the SIPP disability questions cover limitations in functional activities (seeing, hearing, speaking, lifting and carrying, using stairs, and walking), in ADL's or activities of daily living (getting around inside the home,getting in or out of a bed or chair, bathing, dressing, eating, and toileting), and in IADL's or instrumental activities of daily living (going outside the home, keeping track of money or bills, preparing meals, doing light housework, and using the telephone). The SIPP also obtains information on the use of wheelchairs and crutches, canes, or walkers; the presence of certain conditions related to mental functioning, the presence of a work disability, and the disability status of children. In contrast to the comprehensive data available from the SIPP, the decennial census provides data on only a few dimensions of disability, and the CPS data concern only work disability. The major drawback to the SIPP as a disability data source is the relatively small sample size of the survey. In general, the SIPP cannot provide reliable estimates below the regional level. Persons interested in state and local estimates generally use the decennial census as their source of information on the disability status of the population. Because of the demand for more comprehensive data at the state and local level, the Bureau of the Census, under a contract with the Department of Health and Human Services, developed a methodology for producing model-based estimates of certain disability statistics for these geographic units. For additional information, see the section below on ESTIMATING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS IN STATES AND COUNTIES WITH SPECIFIC DISABILITIES: A NOTE ON METHODOLOGY. Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Contact the HHES Information area at 301-763-3242 or visit ask.census.gov for further information on Disability Statistics.
Go to DisabilityLast Revised: Thursday, 08-Jul-2004 12:45:29 EDT
