Washington City Group on Disability Statistics February 18-20, 2002 1 LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL ISSUES...

Washington City Group on Disability StatisticsFebruary 18-20, 2002

1

LANGUAGE AND

CULTURAL ISSUES

IN SURVEYS

OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

H. Van Oyen, Scientific Institute of Public Health, BrusselsS. Van Buuren, TNO Prevention and Health, Leiden J. van den Berg, Statistics on Health and Safety, EurostatJ. Bonte, Statistics on Health and Safety, Eurostat


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EUROPEAN UNION

15 member states

11-plus languages

15-plus cultures and traditions


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CONCEPT AND OPERATIONALISATION

EU - input

Concept

Reference standard instruments

Member state - input

Reference standard instruments

National Operational standardinstruments

EU / Member state - output

Conversion techniques


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LABOUR FORCE SURVEY (LFS)

• Harmonised EU wide survey

• Monitor labour force development

• Based on regulations : compulsary for MS

• 2002 module : disability

Agreement on the content

Standard list of items – variables and codes (EU-regulation)

Agreement on:description of variables

coding instructions

standard questionnaire


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LFS: content and structure of module

Type of problem, cause and duration

Health problem or disability

Yes

End module

Works in sheltered or supported employment

Health problem limits kind or amount of work or mobility related to work

Assistance needed/provided to work

Type of assistance needed/provided

End module

End module

All no

Yes

No


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LFS: Specification of the 2002 ad hoc module on employment of disabled people

Member States and regions concerned: all

The variables will be coded as follows:

Column Code Description Filter, remarks 220 Existence of a longstanding health problem

or disability Every body aged 16 to 64

1 Yes 2 No 9 Not applicable (person aged less than 16 or

more than 64)

Blank No answer


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LFS: Explanatory notes - description of variable

The first variable introduces the topic of a health problem and it

is this variable along with its impact which are used as the

statistic for setting clear goals and targets for the employment

of disabled people. Thus one can look at the distribution of

disabled people according to their economic activity by age,

sex and, where appropriate, type of employment.


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LFS: Explanatory notes - instructions

• Interviewing : Longstanding

Coverage of health problems

• Coding :

Single event, continuous health problem

Recurrent or episodic conditions

Terminal illness or outcome dependent on treatment


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LFS: Reference questionnaire

Introductory text to be read out by interviewer:

‘The following few questions are about your health in relation to work.

What people can do at work is often dependent on their health. Some people may have physical health problems or

disabilities such as heart problems, respiratory problems, or difficulties in walking; others may have sight or hearing

problems even wearing glasses or hearing aids, whereas others may have psychological or emotional problems. Health

problems also include such illnesses as diabetes, dyslexia, epilepsy, problems with digestion as well as skin complaints’.

Variable 1, Column 220.

Do you have any longstanding health problem or disability?

Interviewer: by longstanding we mean anything that has affected R over the past 6 months, or that is likely to affect R for at

least 6 months.

(If no: end module)


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LFS NATIONAL OPERATIONAL STANDARD

At national level the operational questionnaires

needs some adapation in order to reflect the

real concept and meaning of the agreed

reference questionnaire


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RESPONSE CONVERSION

Comparing data in several circumstances

• Items on same topic having different formulation

• New items replacing old one, causing trend gap

• Items with identical formulation but subject to

cultural response biases


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STEPS IN RESPONSE CONVERSION

Define measure of

interest

Estimate conversion

key

Convert to common

scale

repeatedly

1 2 3

once


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WHY RESPONSE CONVERSION?

• Works on existing data• Cost-effective• Assumptions can be tested• Well-established mathematical framework• Indicators on interval scale • Activities can be separated into routines


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CONCLUSION

Developmental work both at the input and output

– Input : content / items (conceptual description) reference instrument

operational instrument

– Output : statistical tools e.g. response conversion

Washington City Group on Disability Statistics February 18-20, 2002 1 LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL ISSUES...

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