THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DISABILITY ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE

The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule(WHODAS) was developed through a collaborative international approach with the aim of developing a single generic instrument for assessing health status and disability across different cultures and settings. The cross-cultural application study spans 19 countries: Austria, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Romania, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States. Between 2002 and July 2003, over 21,000 individuals 18 years and older residing in private households were interviewed. The ethnics committees in each country approved the procedures. Informed consent was obtained from all respondents. WHODAS is an instrument developed to assess behavioral limitations and restrictions to participation experienced by an individual independently from a medical diagnosis. It is useful in measuring disability and functioning in normal and disabled people. WHODAS evaluates the functioning of an individual in the following 6 activity domains: Understanding and Communicating. Getting around(mobility). Self-care. Getting along with people(social and interpersonal functioning). Life activities(home, academic, and occupational functioning). Participation in society(Participation in family, social, and community activities). BLOGGER:Being Sane Takes Too Much Work