Factors associated with disability severity in El Salvador

Abstract

Introduction. Disability is accompanied by physical, mental, intellectual or sensory difficulties; in the world, it is estimated that 15 % of the population has some type. This condition is a dynamic concept that involves the relationship between the person, physical environment, and social environment. Objective. Determine the factors associated with the severity of disability in the National Health Survey, El Salvador. Methodology. An analytical cross-sectional study based on the National Health Survey included people registered with disabilities in the axes: vision, hearing, walking, cognition, self-care, and communication, registered through the Washington Group questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, U Mann Whitney, and the association was determined by Odds Ratio with 95 % confidence intervals and p-value. In turn, a logistic regression model was built. Results. 17,1 % of the people had disabilities, 58,4 % were female and 62,9 % were from urban areas. The most frequent type of disability by severity indicator was mild with 63,7 %; 37,4 % presented functional difficulty seeing and the total prevalence of the disability condition in the axes evaluated by the National Health Survey was: 17,1 % (IC 95 %: 16,817,4). The factor that presented the greatest association was chronic diseases with Odds Ratio 2. 1. (IC 95 %I: 1,15-1,76) p < 0,05. Conclusion. The factors associated with the severity of disability were age and chronic diseases.