'Improving disability data to understand the effects of Covid-19 on people with different impairment types'

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) have published a research report on the use of predictive modelling and administrative health data to provide more detail on the effects of COVID-19 on disabled people.

The ONS has been commissioned by the Cabinet Office Disability Unit (CODU) to improve the data on disability during the coronavirus pandemic. This will enable future analysis on whether people with different impairment types were differently affected by the coronavirus pandemic and will show how exposure and outcomes may vary. Providing higher resolution insights will lead to inclusive statistics that reflect the variety within groups. These improvements to disability data across government are recommended by the Inclusive Data Task Force.

Report contents list for ease of navigation:

• Disability data and coronavirus overview

• Main research strategies and findings

• ONS Public Health Data Asset

• Existing standards and available disability indicators

• Strategy 1: predicting impairments in alternative data sources and implementation in PHDA

• Strategy 2: finding proxies for impairment type in existing administrative health data using expert clinical knowledge

• Strategy 3: an overview of using alternative linked data to identify the disabled population

• International context and framework on disability

• Acknowledgements and collaboration

• Data

• Glossary

• Related links

---