Landes Article on Official US Census Data Missing Millions of Disabled People Published by STAT

September 30, 2024

STAT

Scott Landes

Sociology Department

Aging Studies Institute

Disability

Federal

United States

STAT

Scott Landes

“Millions of people are missing from U.S. disability data,” co-authored by Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology and O'Hanley Faculty Scholar, was published by STAT. Following is an excerpt:

Many disabled people are not included in official U.S. data. This is because there is “No Box to Check” to indicate their particular disability on surveys from the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies. The questions used to identify people with disabilities are missing millions.

Two question sets are most often used to assess disability in U.S. federal surveys: the American Community Survey Six (ACS-6) or the Washington Group Short Set (WG-SS). Combined, they are used in at least 17 U.S. federal surveys, so these disability question sets have an enormous effect on people’s lives. For instance, they appear in the Census Bureau’s surveys, which provide information that “generates data that help inform how trillions of dollars in federal funds are distributed each year.” They are also used in surveys fielded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that help monitor health and health care in the U.S. population.

In both sets, questions focus on respondents’ limitations on specific tasks or activities, such as difficulty seeing even while wearing glasses.

Because of this approach, both sets miss large groups of disabled people. They miss between 23% and 59% of people with mental health or psychiatric disabilities, between 13% and 33% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and between 32% and 53% of people with chronic health conditions, such as long COVID.

Read the full article at the link above.