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Exploring the Use of Washington Group Questions to Identify People with Clinical Impairments Who Need Services including Assistive Products: Results from Five Population-Based Surveys

Author

Listed:
  • Dorothy Boggs

    (International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Hannah Kuper

    (International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Islay Mactaggart

    (International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
    International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Tess Bright

    (International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • GVS Murthy

    (International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
    Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad 122002, India)

  • Abba Hydara

    (Sheikh Zayed Regional Eye Care Centre, Banjul P.O. Box 650, The Gambia)

  • Ian McCormick

    (International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Natalia Tamblay

    (Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 7790680, Chile)

  • Matias L. Alvarez

    (Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8330077, Chile)

  • Oluwarantimi Atijosan-Ayodele

    (Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Maidstone ME16 9QQ, UK)

  • Hisem Yonso

    (Relief International, Istanbul 34087, Turkey)

  • Allen Foster

    (International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Sarah Polack

    (International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

Abstract

This study analyses the use of the self-reported Washington Group (WG) question sets as a first stage screening to identify people with clinical impairments, service and assistive product (AP) referral needs using different cut-off levels in four functional domains (vision, hearing, mobility and cognition). Secondary data analysis was undertaken using population-based survey data from five countries, including one national survey (The Gambia) and four regional/district surveys (Cameroon, Chile, India and Turkey). In total 19,951 participants were sampled (range 538–9188 in individual studies). The WG question sets on functioning were completed for all participants alongside clinical impairment assessments/questionnaires. Using the WG “some/worse difficulty” cut-off identified people with mild/worse impairments with variable sensitivity (44–79%) and specificity (73–92%) in three of the domains. At least 64% and 60% of people with mild/worse impairments who required referral for surgical/medical and rehabilitation/AP services, respectively, self-reported “some/worse difficulty”, and much fewer reported “a lot/worse difficulty.” For moderate/worse impairment, both screening cut-offs improved identification of service/AP need, but a smaller proportion of people with need were identified. In conclusion, WG questions could be used as a first-stage screening option to identify people with impairment and referral needs, but only with moderate sensitivity and specificity.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorothy Boggs & Hannah Kuper & Islay Mactaggart & Tess Bright & GVS Murthy & Abba Hydara & Ian McCormick & Natalia Tamblay & Matias L. Alvarez & Oluwarantimi Atijosan-Ayodele & Hisem Yonso & Allen Fos, 2022. "Exploring the Use of Washington Group Questions to Identify People with Clinical Impairments Who Need Services including Assistive Products: Results from Five Population-Based Surveys," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-17, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:4304-:d:786592
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Beth Sprunt & Barbara McPake & Manjula Marella, 2019. "The UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module—Accuracy, Inter-Rater Reliability and Cut-Off Level for Disability Disaggregation of Fiji’s Education Management Information System," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Beth Sprunt & Manjula Marella, 2021. "Combining Child Functioning Data with Learning and Support Needs Data to Create Disability-Identification Algorithms in Fiji’s Education Management Information System," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-13, September.
    3. Tess Bright & Islay Mactaggart & Min Kim & Jennifer Yip & Hannah Kuper & Sarah Polack, 2019. "Rationale for a Rapid Methodology to Assess the Prevalence of Hearing Loss in Population-Based Surveys," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Dorothy Boggs & Abba Hydara & Yaka Faal & John Atta Okoh & Segun Isaac Olaniyan & Haruna Sanneh & Abdoulie Ngett & Isatou Bah & Mildred Aleser & Erima Denis & Ian McCormick & Tess Bright & Suzannah Be, 2021. "Estimating Need for Glasses and Hearing Aids in The Gambia: Results from a National Survey and Comparison of Clinical Impairment and Self-Report Assessment Approaches," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-19, June.
    5. Wei Zhang & Arne H. Eide & Wesley Pryor & Chapal Khasnabis & Johan Borg, 2021. "Measuring Self-Reported Access to Assistive Technology Using the WHO Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) Questionnaire: Protocol for a Multi-Country Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-8, December.
    6. Tess Bright & Sarah Wallace & Hannah Kuper, 2018. "A Systematic Review of Access to Rehabilitation for People with Disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-34, October.
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