The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #46801

Elaine Maag, MS and David Wittenburg, PhD. Income and Benefits Policy Center, The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037, 202-261-5594, emaag@ui.urban.org

Several researchers have used data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine a variety of issues related to disability research including the impact of the Americans with Disability Act. The SIPP is an excellent potential data source for disability research because it contains several questions related to health and functional limitations. In addition, it contains longitudinal information on health, employment, and program participation for a large nationally representative sample.

This paper reviews the health and disability information included in recent SIPP panels and presents trends in disability prevalence and employment for adults ages 25 to 61. We find that the structure of the questionnaire biases reports of work limitations upwards in later interview waves in panels prior to 1996, compromising comparability within panels. In addition, a dramatic change in how the presence of a work limitation was identified in the 1996 may compromise the comparability of this and previous panels. We discuss which waves are most comparable for disability research. Our findings illustrate the strengths and limitations of using the SIPP for disability research and demonstrate the effects of using alternative approaches to measuring disability.

Our findings have important data collection implications as well. We illustrate how relatively minor changes in a questionnaire can have major implications for the disability prevalence and employment rates. It will be important for Census to recognize these changes and their potential consequences for examining trends over time in designing future questionnaires.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant will

• Understand the variation in how work limitations are identified in the SIPP over time;
• Assess the appropriateness of comparing data both within and across SIPP panels prior to 1996 as well as after the 1996 re-design; and
• Understand how previous estimates of work limitations may be biased.

Keywords: Disability, Data Collection

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.