Advancing Disability Research via Harmonized Data

Recent efforts to advance disability research, healthcare, and policymaking have been held back by a lack of large, high-quality sources of real-world data (RWD) regarding disabled people. In a newly published article in Health Affairs, authors discuss how harmonizing disability-related RWD sources could help address this pressing issue.

According to the authors, “Although high-quality data collected on an ongoing basis are necessary to understand and reduce these gaps, the methodology for collecting data on disability across multiple sources is often inconsistent and, at times, flawed, not only across countries but even between data instruments within a single country.6 This creates confusion and undermines efforts to develop targeted policies and evaluate them appropriately. This article provides guidance on building an appropriate disability data system within a country to support policy efforts aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities.”

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(Source: Health Affairs, October 2022)