1 / 24

Participation Activity Limitation Survey (PALS), 2001

This presentation provides an overview of the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) conducted in 2001 in Canada. It discusses the definition of disability, the target population, and the purpose of the survey. It also covers topics such as the Micro-Data Release Committee, pitfalls in comparing disability rates across surveys, and the use of PALS Public Use Microdata Files (PUMF).

spalding
Download Presentation

Participation Activity Limitation Survey (PALS), 2001

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Participation Activity Limitation Survey (PALS), 2001 Andrew MacKenzie Senior Analyst - PALS Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division Statistics Canada Presented at the DLI Atlantic Workshop in Wolfville Nova Scotia, April 28-29, 2005

  2. Overview of the Presentation: • PALS Overview • Post-Censal survey for people with disabilities • What is a Disability? • Definition of disability • What Does That Mean for PALS? • Who is included or not included in PALS? • Micro-Data Release Committee • If it doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger • The Purpose of the PALS PUMF & Why to Love It • What can you do with the PALS PUMF? • Dirty little secrets & other PALS issues • Pitfalls in Comparing Disability Rates Across Surveys • Questions?

  3. PALS Overview • Post-censal survey of persons with disabilities living in Canada • The target population was children (under 15) and adults (15 years and over) living in households in the 10 provinces who reported a disability on the 2001 census • Sample of 35,000 adults, 8,000 children • Response rate of 82.5%

  4. 2001 Census Disability Filter Questions • Does this person have any difficulty hearing, seeing, communicating, walking, climbing stairs, bending, learning or doing any similar activities? • Yes, sometimes • Yes, often • No • Does a physical condition or mental condition or health problem reduce the amount or the kind of activity this person can do: • At home? • At work or at school? • In other activities, for example, transportation or leisure? • Yes, sometimes • Yes, often • No

  5. Purpose of PALS? • Governments require information to guide disability policy • The experience of Canadians with disabilities as captured in national surveys provides essential information • For tracking progress • For accountability and reporting to Canadians • For policy and program development • The Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) is Canada’s principal national survey focusing on persons with disabilities.

  6. How Do You Define Disability? • Do you consider someone who uses a wheelchair all the time to have a disability? • What if they need it just some of the time? • What about someone with depression? • Schizophrenia? • Dyslexia? • Chronic pain? • Need a hearing aid? • Need glasses? • Three more to chew on: • Obesity? • Homelessness? • HIV/AIDS?

  7. Opinions of Canadians 2004 Environics Poll, Sponsored by SDC

  8. Beliefs about disability have varied historically • Punishment from God, a curse, a seer or enigmatic person (traditional beliefs) • Impairment /chronic condition (bio-medical models) • Activity limitation / handicap (rehab-functional models) • Participation restriction (social, rights-based models) • Due to discrimination, environmental barriers • Normal human variation (post-modern, cultural models)

  9. The International Classification of Functioning (ICF) provides a standardized framework for conceptualising disability

  10. What Does This Mean for PALS? • Follows ICF as a model, but not 100% • Focus is on activity limitations and participation restrictions, not the health condition • Conditions lasting 6 months or more • Use of assistive devices or other technology can remove limitation (hearing aids, glasses, medication) • PALS identifies 10 types of disability: • Hearing, Seeing, Mobility, Agility, Pain, Learning, Memory, Developmental, Psychological, Unknown

  11. Micro-Data Release Committee We lived to tell the tale!

  12. Micro-Data Release Committee • Suppression of sensitive or visible information • Consultations with researchers, client, and committee • Deal with the Devil • No provincial breakdown • 3 by 3 tables analyses • Disclosure risk analysis • More suppression to make committee happy • What if someone finds a blind surgeon? • Or a daredevil in a wheelchair?

  13. How did PALS beat APS & EDS? • Abandon ship!! • Life as a post-Censal at Statistics Canada • More stable funding for PALS 2006 and beyond • APS - searching for 2006 funding • EDS PUMF expected in early summer • New post-Censals for 2006 • Vitality of minority languages • Aboriginal children’s survey

  14. Purpose of the PALS PUMF • PALS PUMF meant for tables, not modeling • Production of population estimates • Already has non-disabled people on the file Examples: • What percentage of Canadians have a hearing disability? • How many Canadians did their schooling with a disability? • What types of disabilities are most likely to think they’ve been discriminated against for a promotion?

  15. What can you do with the PALS PUMF? • Assistive devices & technology (Section B) • Help with everyday activities (Section C) • Education (Section D) • Employment (Section E) • Social participation (Section F) • Economic profile (Section G) • Derived variables • Census variables

  16. Dirty Little Secrets & Other PALS Issues • 39 PALS records missing from the Census master file • Flows in employment section had MAJOR problems • PALS PUMF was string • Lower rates in Quebec - not popular with Quebec • Comparability to other surveys- Pandora’s box

  17. Several Other Statistics Canada Surveys Provide Disability Information • The Census (long form) • Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) • Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) • National Population Health Survey (NPHS) • General Social Survey (GSS) • National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY)

  18. Variations in Canadian Survey Results What’s the right number? What do you want it to be?

  19. Possible Sources of Differences • Sampling (PALS) • Survey context • Proxy responses • Language/culture

  20. Questions? Andrew MacKenzie andrew.mackenzie@statcan.ca (613) 951-2544

  21. Thank you for your attention!! Andrew MacKenzie andrew.mackenzie@statcan.ca (613) 951-2544

More Related