More quantitative evidence is needed using rigorous methods, for instance evidence based on longitudinal data and as part of policy evaluations. More internationally comparable data on disability is required for the quantitative evidence to develop, especially in low- and middle-income countries where studies are scarce. Qualitative and participatory research is also needed, especially to investigate unmet needs, and the consequences of extra costs.

This article reviews the theoretical basis and methods for disability measurement. Different methods arise from different theoretical perspectives. Recent efforts to develop a general international disability measure consistent with the social model of disability aim to produce an internationally comparable measure of disability with which to assess the equalisation of opportunities. Such a measure cannot consistently identify disabled people in need of health and social services. Correctly identifying those in need of these services particularly concerns developing countries where government revenues and disability services are severely limited. This review highlights the need for multiple disability measures to meet different purposes of measurement. The Washington Group general measure on disability and Katz's Activities of Daily Living Index are recommended as valid measures of varying functioning level consistent with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

The most dangerous and widespread threat to disabled people comes from a less dramatic source, so pervasive as to be increasingly invisible-poverty. Ghai, 2001, p. 28 Like disability, poverty can be interpreted and understood in various ways. Disability and poverty are interconnectedeach a cause for and a consequence of the other (Elwan, 1999). Consequently, disability has been flagged as a key development issue in meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and eradicating world poverty (U.K. Department for International Development, 2000). People with disabilities (PWDs) are increasingly being mainstreamed into national poverty reduction strategies (Mwendwa, Murangira, & Lang, 2009). Despite the acknowledged links between disability and poverty, the relationship is not comprehensively documented. In her review of disability and poverty in 1999, Elwan concluded that little was understood of the processes linking disability and poverty, even in developed countries. Nearly a decade later, Braithwaite and Mont (2008) wrote that even basic income-based relationships between disability and poverty had not been calculated in most developing countries. Previous literature reviews on disability and poverty do not systematically review the concept of poverty. Poverty is addressed predominantly through its measurement with an emphasis on the monetary metrics of low-and middle-income consumption. This article provides a conceptual review of poverty with application to disability. Exploring the association between disability and poverty has important implications for the design of policies and programs of social protection. The article is divided into four sections. The first section outlines different definitions of poverty, followed by an application to disability. Empirical evidence on disability and poverty is then presented from high-income and low/middle-income countries. The concluding section provides recommendations for future research and discussion of policy implications.

Ascertainment of the vital status of individuals is of central importance to epidemiologic studies which monitor mortality as an end point. Utilizing identifying information collected in 1973-1974, the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program, a prospective, multicenter study, followed 25,362 individuals to determine eight-year mortality. In the most recent follow-up, there were 617 individuals whose vital status was not known. Available identifying information on these and on all 1,322 participants known to have died in 1979-1981 was submitted to the National Death Index (NDI) for possible confirmation of vital status. A subset of individuals who had Social Security numbers (490 lost to follow-up and 1,154 known deaths) was also submitted to the Social Security Administration (SSA). The NDI correctly identified 87.0% of the known deaths. Of the 1,154 known deaths (those with known Social Security numbers) submitted to both agencies, the NDI identified 93.1% and the SSA 83.6%. Significant variations by race and sex were noted in the identification rates, in part because of Social Security number discrepancies. False matches through the NDI matching process occurred for 10.4% of the known deaths. In the more restrictive SSA search, only 0.5% false matches resulted. For those lost to follow-up, vital status was ascertained in 57.1%. This paper describes the relative efficacy and attributes of the use of these systems to ascertain vital status.

This paper investigates the economic impact of health shocks on working‐age adults in Vietnam during 2004–2008, using a fixed effects specification. Health shocks cover disability and morbidity and are measured by ‘days unable to carry out regular activity’, ‘days in bed due to illness/injury’, and ‘hospitalization’. Overall, Vietnamese households are able to smooth total non‐health expenditures in the short run in the face of a significant rise in out‐of‐pocket health expenditures. However, this is accomplished through vulnerability‐enhancing mechanisms, especially in rural areas, including increased loans and asset sales and decreased education expenditures. Female‐headed and rural households are found to be the least able to protect consumption. Results highlight the need to extend and deepen social protection and universal health coverage. © 2015 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.