Health Need Assessment

Report for Disability Care by Age Group

prepared by
Dr Ali Alsolami

Dr Omar Alharbi

Dr Muhannad Abuljood

Introduction
Disability is a multidimensional and complex concept and it is substantially
limits a major life activity of a human. It may affect the persons and his
family. This will negatively influence the person, family, and the whole
society if the system does not support them. Globally, the rates of disability
are increasing due to population aging and increases in chronic health
conditions, reaching about 15% of the world's population, have some form
of disability. Almost every person will be temporarily or permanently
impaired at some point in life, and those who survive will experience many
limitations in function and participation in society. The love and support of
family play an essential role in taking care of them. The cost of preventive
measures is significantly lesser than the management of expected
complication; Most developing countries reported that disability prevalence
rates were below those reported in many developed countries, because they
collect data on a narrow set of impairments, which yield lower disability
prevalence estimates. However, many countries are using the International
Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework and
related questions in their national disability surveys and consensus. In the
Saudi society, the rate of consanguineous marriages is high. As consequent,
the risk of disabilities associated with genetic causes is significant. Also, the
high rate of car accidents which leaving behind thousands of disabled
people. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), very limited research has
been conducted on the prevalence and incidence of disability, and most of
them were on disabled children.

Objectives
• To calculate the overall disability rate in Saudi Arabia among the
Saudi population.
• To calculate age specific disability rate in Saudi Arabia among Saudi
population.

Methodology
we used data from Saudi Demographic survey 2016 and we measured the
rates for all age groups by using Microsoft Excel version 10.

Results
The overall disability rate in Saudi Arabia among the Saudi population was
3.3 % of the total population are disabled, (out of every 1,000 people there
are 33 disabled persons). The level of disability among the Saudi male
population is higher in general that the female population (3.8 % and 2.8 %
respectively).

The survey reveals that the ratio of the disabled Saudi nationals changes
from one age group to another as it reaches the lowest level among children
(0.6 %). It hits 1.8 among children who are older than one year and younger
than four years. The ratio among 65-69 year old Saudis hit 9.1 %, while it
jumps to 11.6 % for the 70-74 year old nationals, 14.6 % for the people in
the age group 75-79. It hits the highest level among the Saudi population
who are >80-year-old (27.6 %).
Age-specific disability rate in KSA among Saudi
population.

Age groups

Less than 1 0.6 %

1-4 1.7 %

9-5 3.1 %

10-14 3%

15-19 3.1 %

20-24 2.8 %

25-29 2.55%

30-34 2.76 %

35-39 2.28 %

40-44 2.97 %

45-49 2,74 %

50-54 3,43 %

55-59 3.74 %

60-64 4.85 %

65-69 9.18 %

70-74 11.57%

75-79 14.6 %

80 + 27.64%
16
14.6

12 11.57

9.18

4.85
4 3.1 3.1 3.43 3.74
3 2.8 2.55 2.76 2.97 2.74
2.28
1.7
0.6
0
Less than 1 y 5-9 y 15-19 y 25-29 y 35-39 y 45-49 y 55-59 y 65-69 y 75-79 y

Age-specific disability rate in KSA among Saudi population

Conclusion
Disability is a complex, influential, dynamic, multi-dimensional challenge,
and it can extensively limit major life activities of human beings and their
ability to integrate/reintegrate into society. The WHO reported that almost
15% of the world’s population lives with certain types of disability, of whom
3.3 % experience substantial difficulties in functioning. In Saudi Arabia, the
lowest level among infants (0.6 %) while the highest level among the Saudi
population who are >80-year-old (27.6 %).

Recommendations
• Ages with higher rates of disability need more attention, care and
addressing measures to reduce these rate.
• Ensure to develop and supply supportive services, including assistive
devices and technologies to help people with special needs to increase
their level of independence in their daily living.
 • Ensure adequate training for employees, at all levels especially those
involved in planning and provision of programs and services
concerning people with special needs.
• Encourage researchers, institutions and organizations to increase
awareness of scientific research on disability issues and to fill gaps
needed to plan for appropriate management programs, effective
implementation of primary prevention strategies, and proper
allocation of health resources in this area.

References
❖ Organization, W. H. (n.d.). WORLD REPORT ON DISABILITY.
❖ Articles, R. (2013). Disability in Saudi Arabia, 34(5), 453–460.
❖ Ministry of Health Portal