Resources

To date the WG has had 19 annual meetings:

The question modules developed by the Washington Group (WG) – Short Set, Extended Set and Child Functioning Module – have all undergone thorough and rigorous cognitive and field-testing in multiple countries (often in multiple...

The Short Set of six questions on functioning for use on national censuses and surveys was developed, tested and adopted by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG). The questions reflect advances in the conceptualization of disability and use the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as a conceptual framework.

The WG Short Set on Functioning – Enhanced was developed, tested and adopted by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG). The basic actions represented in this set of 12 questions are those that are most often found to limit an individual and result in participation restrictions. The domains in the WG Short Set – Enhanced expand upon the six WG Short Set domains with the addition of two questions on upper body functionating and four on affect or psychosocial functioning: two questions on anxiety and two questions on depression.

The Washington Group Extended Set on Functioning (WG-ES) is intended for use in population-based health surveys, as well as surveys that focus specifically on disability. The WG-ES was developed, tested and adopted by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG).

The Short Set on Functioning for use on national censuses and surveys was developed, tested and adopted by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG). The basic actions represented in this set of six questions are those that are most often found to limit an individual and result in participation restrictions. Domains were selected using the criteria of simplicity, brevity, universality and comparability. The information that results from the use of these questions will, a) represent the majority of, but not all, persons with limitation in basic actions, b) represent the most commonly occurring limitations in basic actions, and c) be able to capture persons with similar problems across countries.

Tools developed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) are intended for use internationally with the goal of producing cross-nationally comparable data on disability. In order for the Washington Group modules (both questions and response options) to be understood in a way that is consistent both within and across countries, it is necessary to have a standardized translation procedure that yields equivalent versions of the questions across a variety of settings and cultures.

The Short Set of six questions on functioning for use on national censuses and surveys was developed, tested and adopted by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG). The questions reflect advances in the conceptualization of disability and use the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as a conceptual framework.

The Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG), a city group established under the United Nations Statistical Commission, was formed to address the urgent need for population-based measures of disability by promoting and coordinating international co-operation in the area of health statistics focusing on disability data collection tools suitable for censuses and national surveys. The major objective is to provide basic necessary information on disability that is comparable throughout the world. The WG has developed data collection tools for use in national censuses and surveys that produce internationally comparable data on disability.

The Washington Group/UNICEF Child Functioning Module (CFM) was developed, tested and adopted by UNICEF and the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG). The questions reflect advances in the conceptualization of disability and use the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as a conceptual framework.