Disability Inclusive Programming

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What Are The Washington Group Set of Questions? – A Guide

368 views 0 July 27, 2022

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) is a city group established under the United Nations Statistical Commission. The major objective is to provide basic necessary information on disability that is comparable throughout the world. The WG has developed data collection tools for use in national censuses and surveys that produce internationally comparable data on disability. 

WG data collection tools

  • Short Set on Functioning (WG-SS)
  • Extended Set on Functioning (WG-ES)
  • Short Set on Functioning – Enhanced (WG-SS Enhanced)
  • UNICEF Child Functioning Module (CFM)
  • Washington Group / ILO Labor Force Survey (WG-LFS)

The Rationale Behind the Washington Group Set of Questions

  • The term ‘disability’ can be understood differently among individuals, across cultures and communities.
  • In some languages, ‘disability’ may instead come off as a derogatory term that many individuals may not want to be associated with.
  • Concepts on disability have also evolved over time.
  • Asking “do you have a disability?”, often leads to unreliable data: 
  • Apart from the respondents being reluctant to reveal their functional limitations, this also leaves it up to the researcher/data collector to define what they would consider as a disability or not and can be influenced by their knowledge on disability.

The ICF classification for problems with human functioning

The ICF classifies problems with human functioning as follows:

  • Impairment: any loss or abnormality in body function or alterations in body structure – for example, paralysis or blindness.
  • Activity limitations: difficulties in executing activities of daily living – for example, dressing, bathing or eating.
  • Participation restrictions: inability to perform an activity in a manner or within the range considered normal for a human being, mostly resulting from an impairment (ICF, 2001).
  • Under the classification, two general measures of impairment were constructed: basic action difficulty (mobility difficulty, seeing and hearing difficulty, and cognitive difficulty) and complex activity limitation which is more related to a person’s restriction in full participation in social role activities (self‐care, communication limitations).
  • Washington Group on Disability Statistics
  • WHO (2001). The International Classification of Functioning (ICF) Disability and Health.
Image: https://humanity-inclusion.org.uk/

Short Set-Enhanced Questions

Interviewer read:

“The next questions ask about difficulties you may have doing certain activities because of a HEALTH PROBLEM.”

VISION

VIS_1 [Do/Does] [you/he/she] have difficulty seeing, even when wearing [your/his/her] glasses]? Would you say…

  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don’t know

HEARING

HEAR_1 [Do/Does] [you/he/she] have difficulty hearing, even when using a hearing aid(s)]? Would you say…

  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don’t know

MOBILITY

[Do/Does] [you/he/she] have difficulty walking or climbing steps? Would you say…

  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don’t know

COMMUNICATION

COM_1 Using [your/his/her] usual language, [do/does] [you/he/she] have difficulty communicating, for example understanding or being understood? Would you say…

  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don’t know

COGNITION (REMEMBERING)

COG_1 [Do/does] [you/he/she] have difficulty remembering or concentrating? Would you say…

  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don’t know

SELF-CARE:

SC_SS [Do/does] [you/he/she] have difficulty with self care, such as washing all over or dressing? Would you say…

  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don’t know

UPPER BODY

UB_1 [Do/Does] [you/he/she] have difficulty raising a 2-liter bottle of water or soda from waist to eye level? Would you say…

UB_2 [Do/Does] [you/he/she] have difficulty using [your/his/her] hands and fingers, such as picking up small objects, for example, a button or pencil, or opening or closing containers or bottles? Would you say…

  1. No difficulty
  2. Some difficulty
  3. A lot of difficulty
  4. Cannot do at all
  5. Refused
  6. Don’t know

Affect (Anxiety and Depression)

Interviewer:

 If respondent asks whether they are to answer about their emotional states after taking mood-regulating medications, say:

“Please answer according to whatever medication [you were/he was/she was] taking.”

ANXIETY

ANX_1 How often [do/does] [you/he/she] feel worried, nervous or anxious? Would you say…

  1. Daily
  2. Weekly
  3. Monthly
  4. A few times a year
  5. Never
  6. Refused
  7. Don’t know

ANX_2 Thinking about the last time [you/he/she] felt worried, nervous or anxious, how would [you/he/she] describe the level of these feelings? Would [you/he/she] say…

  1. A little
  2. A lot
  3. Somewhere in between a little and a lot
  4. Refused
  5. Don’t know

DEPRESSION

DEP_1 How often [do/does] [you/he/she] feel depressed? Would [you/he/she] say…

  1. Daily
  2. Weekly
  3. Monthly
  4. A few times a year
  5. Never
  6. Refused
  7. Don’t know

DEP_2 Thinking about the last time [you/he/she] felt depressed, how depressed did [you/he/she] feel? Would you say…

  1. A little
  2. A lot
  3. Somewhere in between a little and a lot
  4. Refused
  5. Don’t know

Response Validation/Data Analysis

The responses in red indicate disability.

*Guidance note for data analysis using SPSS, STATA Available

Level of Difficulty

1: No difficulty
2: Some difficulty
3: A lot of difficulty
4: Cannot do at all
7: Refused
9: Don’t know

Frequency

1: Daily
2: Weekly
3: Monthly
4: A few times a year
5: Never
7: Refused
9: Don’t know

Magnitude

1: A little
2: A lot
3: Somewhere in between a little and a lot
7: Refused
9: Don’t know

Using the Washington Group Short-Set on Functioning

The Washington Group Short Set is used as part of larger surveys, data collection exercises. It is then inserted into the demographic section of a survey. Data collectors need to be trained on disability awareness and proper use of the WG Set of Questions in order to get effective results.  

Field testing is needed to observe the data collectors and to ensure the quality of interviews conducted, as well as to correct errors. For the best results, use Consultative Translation before interviews as opposed to on-spot translations during the interview. 

Do's and Don'ts

  • Do – treat all respondents with respect and dignity
  • Do – read the response options aloud, at least until the respondent becomes familiar with the answer categories
  • record the answers given by the respondent exactly
  • Do – be sensitive to the situation of the person
  • Don’t - use the word disability when asking the questions
  • Don’t - change the questions, or add your own interpretation
  • Don’t - give examples
  • Don’t - make observations
  • Don’t - try to 'diagnose' or go beyond the question
  • Don’t - translate as you go

Reference Documents and Other Resource Links 

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