Family members provide most support to people with a disability
The report National Disability Survey 2006 – Volume 2, published by the CSO today, presents the detailed analyses of the situation of people with a disability in Ireland in the following nine areas: Caring and help from other persons; Attitudes of other people; Transport; Built environment accessibility; Education; Work and training; Social participation; Sport and exercise; and some general issues such as use of medication, health and smoking.
Key findings from the report include:
- One-third of adults with a disability in private households had some difficulty doing routine tasks inside their home because of their disability, while a further 19% had a lot of difficulty. Overall, 43% of men had difficulty compared with 59% of women.
- People living in nursing homes, hospitals and children’s homes had higher levels of difficulty doing everyday activities. For example, 86% had difficulty taking a bath or shower by themselves compared with 31% of persons in private households.
- Around 56% of persons with a disability in private households received help with their everyday activities. The most common source of help was from family members who lived with the person - 42% of persons in private households who had a disability received such help.
- A high proportion of adults with a disability in private households felt supported by the attitudes of their Family (90%), Health and care staff (87%) and Friends (79%).
- Bathroom adaptations were the most used adaptation in the home with 20% of persons with a disability in private households using them. This proportion rose to 45% of persons aged 75 & over. A further 12% of persons with a disability in private households needed but did not have bathroom adaptations.
- A lack of money was the most common reason for not having specialised features in the home with over half (52%) of adults in private households with a disability citing this as a reason.
- Difficulty getting on and off public transport vehicles was given by 16% of persons aged 5 & over in private households as a reason for not using or having difficulty using public transport. Difficulty transferring from one service to another was the next most cited reason (12%), while difficulty getting to the public transport was reported by 9%.
- Around half of persons with a disability in private households experienced difficulty with Going to town shopping (56%), Going away for a break or holiday (53%), Taking part in community life (54%) and Socialising in a public venue (49%).
- People with a disability rated their general health as Very good (15%), Good (35%), Fair (38%), Bad (10%) and Very bad (3%). A higher proportion of those living in private households reported that their health was Very good (16% compared with 6% in nursing homes, hospitals and children’s homes).
- Around one third (32%) of respondents aged 5 & over whose disability limited or affected them before they completed their full-time education indicated that they had stopped their education sooner than they intended because of their disability.
- Three-quarters (76%) of adults with a disability never avoided doing things because of the reactions of other people, 17% sometimes avoided doing things and 7% frequently or always avoided doing things. Older people were less affected by the attitudes of others.
Editor's note
The report is available on the CSO web site (www.cso.ie)
For copies of the publications contact:
The Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork
Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2
Price: €5
For further information:
For further information: contact John McCartney at 01 498 4215, Norita Murphy at 01 498 4295, Gerry Brady at 01 498 4201 or Bernie Ryan at 01 498 4285.
27 January 2010
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