Background: Over four million people in Australia have some form of disability, of whom 2.1 million are of working age. This paper estimates the costs of disability in Australia using the standard-of-living approach. This approach defines the cost of disability as additional income required for people with a disability to achieve a similar living standard to those without a disability. We analyse data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey using a hybrid panel data model. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the costs of disability in Australia using a high quality, large, nationally-representative longitudinal data set.
Methods: This study estimates the costs of disability in Australia by using the Standard of Living (SoL) and a dynamic model approach. It examines the dynamics of disability and income by using lagged disability and income status. The study also controls for unobserved individual heterogeneity and endogeneity of income. The longitudinal specification in this study allows us to separate short- and long-run costs of disability using a hybrid panel data regression approach.
Results: Our results show that people with a disability need to increase their adult-equivalent disposable income by 50% (in the short-run) to achieve the same standard of living as those without a disability. This figure varies considerably according to the severity of the disability, ranging from 19% for people without work-related limitations to 102% for people with severe limitations. Further, the average cost of disability in the long-run is higher and it is 63% of the adult-equivalent disposable income.
Conclusions: Firstly, our results show that with the same level of income, the living standard is lower in households with people with a disability compared to households without members with a disability. This indicates a strong relationship between poverty and disability. However, current poverty measures do not take into account disability, therefore, they fail to consider substantial differences in poverty rates between people with and without a disability. Secondly, the estimated costs reflected in this study do consider foregone income due to disability. Therefore, policymakers should seriously consider adopting disability-adjusted poverty and inequality measurements. Thirdly, increasing the income (e.g. through government payments) or providing subsidised services for people with a disability may increase their financial satisfaction, leading to an improved living standard. The results of this study can serve as a baseline for the evaluation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13561-020-00264-1 | DOI Listing |
J Clin Invest
January 2025
Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Ischemic stroke is a major cause of adult disability. Early treatment with thrombolytics and/or thrombectomy can significantly improve outcomes; however, following these acute interventions, treatment is limited to rehabilitation therapies. Thus, the identification of therapeutic strategies that can help restore brain function in the post-acute phase remains a major challenge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurol Sci
January 2025
Department of Neurology, Provincial Hospital of Bolzano (SABES- ASDAA), Lehrkrankenhaus der Paracelsus Medizinischen Privatuniversität, Bolzano, 39100, Italy.
Introduction: Vortioxetine is a multimodal antidepressant with a high tolerability profile. Recent evidence suggests a role for vortioxetine in improving cognitive function and reducing functional disability linked to depression. We conducted a systematic review on the use of vortioxetine in different neurological disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Pediatr
January 2025
CESTA VON, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Unlabelled: High rates of childhood neurodisability are reported among the Roma, Europe's largest ethnic minority community. Interventions targeting early child development (ECD) during the first 2 years of life can improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in vulnerable children; however, evidence from Roma preschoolers is scarce. In a quasi-experimental observational study, we compared neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 2 years, measured on the INTERGROWTH-21st Project Neurodevelopmental Assessment (INTER-NDA), between Roma children receiving a community-based ECD intervention (RI, n = 98), and age- and sex-matched Roma and non-Roma children (RC, n = 99 and NRC, n = 54, respectively) who did not receive the intervention in Eastern Slovakia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatrics
January 2025
Complex Care, Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Pediatric home health care represents a vital system of care for children with disability and medical complexity, encompassing services provided by family caregivers and nonfamily home health care providers and the use of durable medical equipment and supplies. Home health care is medically necessary for the physiologic health of children with disability and medical complexity and for their participation and function within home, school, and community settings. While the study of pediatric home health care in the United States has increased in the last decade, its research remains primarily methodologically limited to observational studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisabil Rehabil
January 2025
CanChild Center for Childhood-Onset Disability Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Purpose: This study explores the experiences of autistic youth and neurodivergent job coaches during a job training program.
Methods: Interpretive Description methodology guided this study. Two researchers facilitated virtual focus groups with autistic students and neurodivergent job coaches separately before (n = 14) and after (n = 12) the program.
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