International measurement of disability: purpose, method and application - 61

This volume provides an informed review of the Washington Group accomplishments in the provision of international data and statistics on disability within the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

It includes a description of the development and testing of a short set of questions for Censuses, now used in approximately 29 countries; the experiences of several countries on the use of the Washington Group questions and how this has impacted on national agendas in the area of disability; the development and testing of an extended set of questions for use in national surveys other than censuses; the challenges of translation and the importance of generating comparable question sets in different languages and within different cultures; the examination of cognitive testing techniques in a variety of countries; and the results of the first round of censuses in 2010 in countries using the six question set.

Part of the current work of the Washington Group on development of question modules on a broad range of functioning areas, child disability and functioning, and the environmental contexts of participation are also included.

The volume concludes with a thoughtful contribution, authored by a former member of the UN and an internationally known disability advocate, addressing what the development of cross-nationally comparable data can mean for the improvement of circumstances for all persons with disabilities.