Generating data on disability prevalence through school-based surveys: Lessons learned

• In Event: The Equity Initiative: Innovations and Challenges in Using Functionality Screenings with Children

Proposal

This paper presents the initial results from the rollout of the Washington Group Short Set of Questions with children and adolescents through the school-based surveys. The Short Set is intended for use by adults, and is generally not geared towards gathering data with children. This exercise by FHI 360 aimed to empirically test the appropriateness of the tool with children in different country contexts and age groups. For two countries, Ghana and Nigeria, data were collected as part of an EGRA student survey, administered to students of grades 2-3. In Malawi and Nigeria, FHI 360 administered a survey to adolescent girls with the same module. The presentation will share the comparative analysis of the datasets for the four programs, and the lessons learned from the differences in context and age group.
In addition, the presentation will feature the initial results from an adaptation and cognitive testing of the child functional disability module for use with children. Once validated, this tool will allow for more effective identification of children with disabilities in the context of regular mainstream student and school surveys, making it possible for programs to better understand the needs of children with disabilities. These results will be compared and contrasted from the simple adaptation of the Washington Group Short Set of questions described above.

Author

• Carina Omoeva, FHI 360