The Term “Difficulty” instead of “Disability”

“Disability” is a word whose meaning can vary not only across cultures, but among people within the same culture.  Moreover, in some cultures the term is associated with shame and/or stigma. It also predisposes people to consider only the most severe functional limitations.

Therefore, no reference should be made to the impact on the life of people resulting from such difficulties.  In addition, the word “disability” should not appear in the introductory statement, or even the title of the survey.

The purpose of the introductory statement is to inform respondents that the context of the next set of questions is health. For example, if the questions were to follow a series of questions on another subject, such as sanitation, for example, the introductory statement would provide a transition to a more health-related subject matter. In a larger survey, whereby this module might follow other health-related questions, and where the context is already established, the introductory statement can be dropped if the flow of the questionnaire is not adversely affected.

Box 14. Avoid using the word “Disability”