Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 51-10 | Page 85

J Rehabil Med 2019; 51: 805–812 ORIGINAL REPORT PREVALENCE OF DISABILITY IN MOROCCO: RESULTS FROM A LARGE-SCALE NATIONAL SURVEY Abderrazak HAJJIOUI, MD 1 , Naïma ABDA, MD 2 , Rachid GUENOUNI, PhD 3 , Chakib NEJJARI, MD, PhD 4 and Maryam FOURTASSI, MD, PhD 1,2 From the 1 Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Laboratory of Clinical Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, 2 Laboratory of Epidemiology, Clinical Research and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Oujda, Mohammed First University, Oujda, 3 Disability Department, Ministry of Family, Solidarity, Equality and Social Development, Rabat and 4 Laboratory of Epidemiology, Clinical Research and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed Ben Abdallah University, Fez, Morocco Objective: Disability is considered a global health problem, with an increasing number of persons with disabilities. Up-to-date and good-quality data on disability are essential to policymakers in order to establish tailored programmes for persons with disa- bilities based on the specific needs of each category. The aims of this study were to determine the preva- lence of disability in the adult Moroccan population, and its distribution according to socio-demographic characteristics and geographical regions. Methods: A national survey was conducted in 2014, including a sample of 47,275 adult participants drawn from 16,044 households from urban and rural areas proportioned to population size. The sample’s socio-demographic characteristics were collected in face-to-face interviews. The data were then scree- ned for disability using the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability. Results: Overall prevalence of disability among the Moroccan adult population was 9.5%, with im- portant geographical disparities. Older age, lower education rates, unemployment, being single, and living in rural areas, were associated with higher prevalence rates of disability. Visual and motor de- ficiencies were the most common disability moda- lities, and the prevalence of moderate-to-extreme disability, which is associated with more significant limitations in functioning, was 2.6%. Discussion/Conclusion: Results from this national Survey are critical and would guide national disa- bility policies and programmes, in order to reduce disabling barriers and improve persons with disabili- ties access to healthcare and participation. Key words: disabled persons; cross-sectional studies; Moroc- co; disability prevalence; low-and middle-income country; Washington Group. Accepted Sep 18, 2019; Epub ahead of print Sep 30, 2019 J Rehabil Med 2019; 51: 805–812 Correspondence address: Abderrazak Hajjioui, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed Ben Abdallah University, Route Immouzer, BP 2626, Fez, 30.000 Morocco. E-mail: [email protected] A ccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1 billion people worldwide are living with some form of disability, representing LAY ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of disability in the adult Moroccan population, and its dist- ribution according to socio-demographic characteristics and geographical regions. A national survey was conduc- ted in 2014, including a sample of 47,275 adult parti- cipants drawn from 16,044 households from urban and rural areas proportioned to population size. The sample’s socio-demographic characteristics were collected in fa- ce-to-face interviews. The data were then screened for disability using the Washington Group Short Set of Ques- tions on Disability. The overall prevalence of disability among the Moroccan adult population was 9.5%, with important geographical disparities. Older age, lower edu- cation rates, unemployment, being single, and living in rural areas, were associated with higher prevalence rates of disability. Visual and motor deficiencies were the most common disability modalities, and the prevalence of mo- derate to extreme disability, which is associated with more significant limitations in functioning, was 2.6%. 15% of the world population, with a 5% increase since the previous WHO estimation in the 1970s (1). Hence, disability can be considered a global health problem, with an increasing number of persons with disabilities (PWD). This can be explained by the ageing of popu- lations and by the increase in chronic diseases, which can lead to disability, such as diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and mental illnesses (1). In Morocco, epidemiological data on disability are rare and mostly limited to the results of the first national disability survey, conducted in 2004 by the Secretary of State for “Social Protection, Family and Children” (SSSPFC), which revealed that 1.53 million people were living with disabilities, representing 5.12% of the Moroccan population (2). Since 2004, Morocco has seen a number of signifi- cant changes that have influenced the issue of disability, such as the ratification of the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in April 2009 (3), and the adoption of a new constitu- tion in 2011, which recognizes the rights of PWD and prompts public authorities to implement policies and programmes specifically designed to make life easier for PWD. However, up-to-date and good-quality data This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license. www.medicaljournals.se/jrm Journal Compilation © 2019 Foundation of Rehabilitation Information. ISSN 1650-1977 doi: 10.2340/16501977-2611