Characteristics of Individuals with Disabilities in Palestine

An Analytical Study Based on the Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017

SPRI Global is supporting the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in a study with an in-depth analysis of the situation of people with disabilities (PWDs) in Palestine. At the indicator level, the report outlines the prevalence rates of PWDs, describes the basic characteristics of PWDs, the main causes of disabilities, and an overview of the basic access to services of PWDs.

The indicator-level analysis measures the prevalence of the people with disabilities, identifying the prevalence of the different types of disabilities/difficulties among children and adults residing in Palestine. The analysis of the percentage of the PWD is provided, comparing different regions of Palestine, including Gaza Strip versus the West Bank. Also, we explore the differences in disabilities of the population with and without refugee status.

This analysis also explores the main causes of disabilities, including congenital/genetic, during pregnancy/delivery, illness, psychological/physical abuse, aging, work injury, traffic accident, other accidents, Israeli measurements, War, Stress, or other. In combination with the knowledge about the main disabilities suffered by people in the country, this analysis serves as a basis to understand what kind of assistance may be necessary to provide to PWDs and how to prevent them, whenever possible.

A comparative analysis component describes how the status of persons with disabilities has changed over time and geographic location. The comparative analysis evaluates the situation of PWDs over time using previous census data, the Population, Housing and Establishments Census (PHC) 2007. The PHC 2007 inquiries about the same type of difficulties than in the PHC 2017, which allows a comparison of the evolution of the disabilities over a period of 10 years of the prevalence of persons with disabilities that is consistent both in terms of population coverage and the disability definition.

 The multivariate analysis attempts to identify some of the risks associated with disability in Palestine in terms of access to basic services, negative externalities on other household members, and future opportunities for economic mobility and labor market inclusivity. Under what conditions do disabilities lead to social exclusion or limitations in more complex activities; and/or under what conditions can people with disabilities contribute to child deprivations in the household? Answering these questions can shed light on which policy actions may be successful in combating discrimination or inequities and especially the policy actions that aim at equalizing the opportunities between the two groups. This analysis relies on logistic regression models to study the relation between aspects of disabilities and other outcomes.  It aims to answer the following questions:

• To what extent does disability affect gaps in access to basic services and participation between individuals with disabilities and those without disabilities?
  • Objective: To establish the associations between disability and education, health insurance, living standards (based on proxy indicator for household wealth), and access to ICT of individuals with disabilities, compared to individuals without disabilities.
• How does disability generate externalities on other members of the household?
  • Objective. To establish the association of the presence of disabled people in the household and the deprivations in access to basic services (health insurance, education, and ICT) for children without disabilities.
• How does disability in childhood affect future opportunities for labor market inclusion and economic mobility?
  • To disentangle if adults that have experienced a disability during childhood are confronted with limitations during adulthood than adults without congenital disabilities.

This project is ongoing and the analytical report is currently being finalised in support of PCBS.

Download the full report from Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.