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In this ninth edition of CCSD's Disability Information Sheets, we provide statistics on persons with disabilities and their health and well-being. Overall, persons with disabilities encounter more difficulties with health issues and they have lower ratings on indicators of well-being. The source of data for this Information Sheet is Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey 1998/99 (NPHS).
Persons with disabilities are much less likely than their non-disabled counterparts to be in good health. As noted in Table 1, only 8.1% of persons with disabilities reported that they were in excellent health, compared with 36.3% of those without disabilities. In particular, women with disabilities were the least likely to report being in either excellent health (6.6%) or very good health (22.7%), while men without disabilities were the most likely to say their health was excellent (38.6%).
| Table 1: Self-rated Health Status of Persons (All Ages), with and without Disabilities, by Gender | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Health | Persons with Disabilities | Persons without Disabilities | ||||
| Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | |
| Excellent | 9.7% | 6.6% | 8.1% | 38.6% | 34.0% | 36.3% |
| Very Good | 22.3% | 22.7% | 22.5% | 39.1% | 40.7% | 39.9% |
| Good | 34.5% | 36.5% | 35.5% | 19.6% | 21.7% | 20.6% |
| Fair | 23.2% | 25.2% | 24.3% | 2.6% | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| Poor | 10.3% | 9.1% | 9.6% | * | * | * |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.1% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| * Due to sample size limitations, data cannot be released. Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. |
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Since persons with disabilities are, in general, more likely to be older, and older persons generally are less likely to be in excellent health, it makes sense to compare the overall health of persons with and without disabilities within age groups in order to control for the effects of age as much as possible. Even when we do so, however, it is evident that persons with disabilities are still less likely than their non-disabled peers to rate their health as excellent. For example, among those aged 15 to 34, 34.4% of those without disabilities rated their health as excellent, whereas only 10.7% of those with disabilities did so (see Table 2).
And while the percentage who reported excellent health decreased with age among both those with and those without disabilities, the gap between the groups remained. Among those aged 65 and older, 15.2% of those without disabilities rated their health as excellent, compared to only 3.7% of those with disabilities.
| Table 2: Self-rated Health Status of Persons with and without Disabilities, by Age Group | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 to 34 years | 35 to 49 years | 50 to 64 years | 65+ years | |||||
| Overall Health | With Disability | No Disability | With Disability | No Disability | With Disability | No Disability | With Disability | No Disability |
| Excellent | 10.7%** | 34.4% | 9.4% | 29.9% | 5.2%** | 24.5% | 3.7%** | 15.2% |
| Very Good | 33.0% | 44.3% | 24.8% | 44.4% | 18.6% | 41.6% | 15.3% | 39.9% |
| Good | 35.1% | 19.3% | 37.2% | 23.0% | 35.1% | 28.2% | 35.3% | 34.7% |
| Fair | 17.7% | 1.8% | 20.3% | 2.6% | 29.3% | 5.3% | 30.9% | 9.2% |
| Poor | * | * | 8.4%** | * | 11.7% | * | 14.8% | * |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.1% | 100.0% | 99.9% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| * Due to sample size limitations, data cannot be released. ** Data should be used with caution. Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. |
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The greater likelihood of persons with disabilities having poorer health is also accompanied by a greater likelihood of requiring health care, but not receiving it. For example, 14.6% of persons with disabilities reported that they were unable to obtain the health care they needed, whereas only 3.9% of persons without disabilities made such as report.
The most prevalent reason cited for not receiving the necessary health care was because of long waiting times for that care – both among those with disabilities (23.2%) and among those without disabilities (22.7%). Persons with disabilities were also more likely than those without disabilities to assume that the care they would get would be inadequate (14.6% and 12.2%, respectively), or to forgo the required health care due to cost considerations (14.1%, compared to 11%). People without disabilities were more likely than those with disabilities to report that they were too busy to get the health care they required (15.7% and 6.9%, respectively; see Figure 3).
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Persons with disabilities are more likely to report that they have low levels of support in a variety of areas that contribute to overall well-being. For example, persons with disabilities were more likely to report lower levels of social support than their non-disabled counterparts (see Table 4), and women with disabilities had the lowest levels of social support. In fact, 6.2% of women with disabilities reported having little or no social support at all, compared with 5.6% for men with disabilities, and only 2.6% for women and men without disabilities. A further 24.2% of women with disabilities reported having social support only some of the time, compared with 16.1% of men with disabilities, 16.9% of women without disabilities, and 13.3% of men without disabilities.
It is clear that men are generally more likely than women to report having social support all of the time. Only 35.2% of women with disabilities reported having social support available all the time, compared with 41.9% of men with disabilities, 41.4% of women without disabilities, and 47.1% of men without disabilities.
| Table 4: Social Support for Persons with and without Disabilities, by Gender | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | |||
| Amount of Social Support | With Disability | No Disability | With Disability | No Disability |
| Little or none | 5.6% | 2.6% | 6.2% | 2.6% |
| Some of the time | 16.1% | 13.3% | 24.2% | 16.9% |
| Most of the time | 36.5% | 37.0% | 34.4% | 39.1% |
| All of the time | 41.9% | 47.1% | 35.2% | 41.4% |
| Total | 100.1% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. | ||||
The findings are quite similar for other types of supports as well. Persons with disabilities are more likely to report low levels of emotional or informational support and lower levels of affection than do persons without disabilities (see Tables 5 & 6).
| Table 5: Emotional or Informational Support for Persons with and without Disabilities, by Gender | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | |||
| Amount of Emotional/Informational Support | With Disability | No Disability | With Disability | No Disability |
| Little or none | 12.5% | 7.0% | 12.6% | 6.0% |
| Some of the time | 35.1% | 33.9% | 31.2% | 30.2% |
| Most of the time | 24.5% | 25.8% | 26.2% | 27.8% |
| All of the time | 27.9% | 33.3% | 29.9% | 36.0% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 99.9% | 100.0% |
| Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. | ||||
| Table 6: Affection for Persons with and without Disabilities, by Gender | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | |||
| Amount of Affection | With Disability | No Disability | With Disability | No Disability |
| Little or none | 6.5% | 4.3% | 6.1% | 2.7% |
| Some of the time | 25.8% | 21.9% | 23.7% | 19.7% |
| Most of the time | 18.9% | 18.7% | 20.7% | 18.9% |
| All of the time | 48.9% | 55.0% | 49.6% | 58.7% |
| Total | 100.1% | 99.9% | 100.1% | 100.0% |
| Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. | ||||
Persons with disabilities are also less likely to report having large social circles of close friends and relatives. Both women (46.2%) and men (46.9%) with disabilities were more likely than their non-disabled counterparts (42.5% and 40.8%, respectively) to report that they had a small circle of close friends and relatives – usually of five or less (see Table 7).
| Table 7: Close Friends and Relatives of Persons with and without Disabilities, by Gender | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | |||
| Number of Close Friends and Relatives | With Disability | No Disability | With Disability | No Disability |
| Less than five | 46.9% | 40.8% | 46.2% | 42.5% |
| 5 to 9 | 29.6% | 31.1% | 32.8% | 34.4% |
| 10 to 14 | 16.2% | 18.3% | 14.2% | 15.8% |
| Over 15 | 7.3% | 9.8% | 6.8% | 7.2% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 99.9% |
| Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. | ||||
Women and men with disabilities are also less likely than their non-disabled counterparts to report high levels of positive social interaction. For example, among women with disabilities, 6.5% reported having little or no positive social interaction in their lives, and a further 24.5% reported having positive social interaction only some of the time. Among women without disabilities, 1.9% reported little or no positive social interaction and a further 15.7% said only some of the time. For men with disabilities, the comparable figures were 4.9% (little or none) and 21% (some of the time), and for men without disabilities, only 1.6% reported having little or no positive social interaction and a further 15.1% said they had positive interaction only some of the time (see Table 8).
| Table 8: Positive Social Interactions for Persons with and without Disabilities, by Gender | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | |||
| Amount of Positive Social Interaction | With Disability | No Disability | With Disability | No Disability |
| Little or none | 4.9%** | 1.6% | 6.5% | 1.9% |
| Some of the time | 21.0% | 15.1% | 24.5% | 15.7% |
| Most of the time | 36.7% | 39.2% | 33.0% | 37.6% |
| All of the time | 37.4% | 44.1% | 35.9% | 44.7% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
|
** Data should be used with caution. Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. |
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| Table 9: Positive Social Interaction for Persons with and without Disabilities, by Paid Work | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons with Disabilities | Persons without Disabilities | |||
| Amount of Positive Social Interaction | Worked in past year | Did Not Work in past year | Worked in past year | Did Not Work in past year |
| Little or none | 3.2%** | 10.4% | 1.2% | 3.4%** |
| Some of the time | 20.6% | 24.0% | 14.2% | 17.6% |
| Most of the time | 36.7% | 32.9% | 38.6% | 38.0% |
| All of the time | 39.5% | 32.6% | 45.9% | 41.0% |
| Total | 100.0% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 100.0% |
|
** Data should be used with caution. Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. |
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For the working-age population, involvement in the labour market is an important element in determining well-being. Among those who had been involved in the labour market in the previous year, they were more likely to report higher and more positive indicators of well-being than did those who had not been involved in the labour market.
For example, 76.2% of persons with disabilities who had worked in the paid labour market at some point in the previous year reported having positive social interactions most of the time or all of the time (36.7% + 39.5%), compared with only 65.5% of persons with disabilities who had not worked in the previous year (see Table 9). And while there is still a gap between persons with and those without disabilities – regardless of their work status – it is clear that having a job is an important factor in most people's well-being. In many instances, however, having a job appears to have an even greater impact on measures of well-being for persons with disabilities than it does for their non-disabled counterparts.
| Table 10: Social Support for Persons with and without Disabilities, by Paid Work | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons with Disabilities | Persons without Disabilities | |||
| Amount of Positive Social Support | Worked in past year | Did Not Work in past year | Worked in past year | Did Not Work in past year |
| Little or none | 3.8%** | 8.1%** | 2.2% | 3.8% |
| Some of the time | 19.5% | 25.3% | 15.3% | 16.8% |
| Most of the time | 40.2% | 31.1% | 38.8% | 37.2% |
| All of the time | 36.5% | 35.5% | 43.6% | 42.2% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 99.9% | 100.0% |
|
** Data should be used with caution. Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. |
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It is difficult to determine if having social supports facilitates paid work, or if paid work offers greater access to social supports. Most likely the effect goes both ways. In an earlier CCSD publication entitled Bringing Down the Barriers, research with focus groups indicated that having access to many of these social supports can actually facilitate paid employment. It is equally likely, however, that paid employment increases people's access to a wider social network and to more potential areas of support within that network (Fawcett, 2000).
And in other research that looked at the effects of social resources (many of which were similar to the ones examined here) in mitigating the impact of disability and depression later in life, Jang et al found a positive relationship. These supports can be important factors in reducing the likelihood that persons with disabilities may eventually suffer from depression, in addition to their initial disability. Their findings suggest that “psychosocial resources may serve as a stress moderator that buffers the adverse consequences of disability.” (Jang et al, 2002).
In previous issues of these Disability Information Sheets, we have provided information about the links between paid work and economic security for persons with disabilities. It is evident from the data presented here that paid work is also positively correlated with overall security or well-being – something that persons with disabilities have been saying for years!
| Table 11: Emotional/Informational Support for Persons with and without Disabilities, by Paid Work | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons with Disabilities | Persons without Disabilities | |||
| Amount of Emotional/Informational Support | Worked in Past Year | Did Not Work in Past Year | Worked in Past Year | Did Not Work in Past Year |
| Little or none | 9.4% | 18.2% | 5.4% | 9.1% |
| Some of the time | 35.0% | 30.6% | 32.6% | 31.4% |
| Most of the time | 25.1% | 27.1% | 27.2% | 26.9% |
| All of the time | 30.5% | 24.1% | 34.8% | 32.7% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.1% |
| Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. | ||||
| Table 12: Affection for Persons with and without Disabilities, by Paid Work | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons with Disabilities | Persons without Disabilities | |||
| Amount of Affection | Worked in past year | Did Not Work in past year | Worked in past year | Did Not Work in past year |
| Little or none | 4.2%** | 10.4% | 2.9% | 4.6% |
| Some of the time | 22.9% | 26.7% | 20.5% | 22.8% |
| Most of the time | 19.8% | 18.3% | 18.7% | 20.1% |
| All of the time | 53.1% | 44.6% | 57.9% | 52.6% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.1% |
| ** Data should be used with caution. Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. |
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| Table 13: Close Friends and Relatives of Persons with and without Disabilities, by Paid Work | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons with Disabilities | Persons without Disabilities | |||
| Number of Close Friends & Relatives | Worked in past year | Did Not Work in past year | Worked in past year | Did Not Work in past year |
| Less than 5 | 41.7% | 53.9% | 40.1% | 48.8% |
| 5 to 9 | 34.4% | 27.8% | 33.4% | 31.0% |
| 10 to 14 | 17.1% | 12.2% | 17.9% | 13.7% |
| 15+ | 6.8% | 6.2%** | 8.6% | 6.5% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| ** Data should be used with caution. Source: Calculations by the Canadian Council on Social Development using data from Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey, 1998/99. |
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2 Yuri Jang, William E. Haley, Brent J. Small, and James A. Mortimer. “The Role of Mastery and Social Resources in the Associations Between Disability and Depression in La
