7. Current and future uses of the DSQ A New Survey Measure of Disability: the Disability Screening Questions (DSQ)
7. Current and future uses of the DSQ

The 2011 LFS and CCHS were the first opportunities to collect disability data with the long DSQ. Since then, the long and short versions have been included in several other surveys.

Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD)

The long DSQ were officially used for the first time in the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) in the fall of 2012, with results released in December 2013. The plans are to use the long DSQ for the next cycle in 2017.

In 2016, the DSQ filter questions^{Note 1} will replace the old filter questions on the Census long-form questionnaire.^{Note 2} A test of the DSQ filter questions compared with the old NHS filter questions in the summer of 2014 showed^{Note 3} that the DSQ filters were more inclusive; that they were more likely to include people with non-physical disabilities; and that they yielded filter-in rates similar to those observed in the quantitative tests on the LFS and CCHS.

Inclusion of the DSQ filters on the 2016 long-form Census means that they will not be put on the 2017 CSD, so the DSQ screeners will be asked of every respondent. This is comparable to the approach of the 2012 CSD—the DSQ filters were asked but not used as such because every CSD respondent had to answer all the screeners.

With the use of these new filters on the long-form Census, coverage of PWD on the next CSD will improve, because a larger number of people with non-physical disabilities will be included on the survey frame.

Longitudinal International Study of Adults (LISA)

The long DSQ were used in cycle 2 of the Longitudinal International Study of Adults (LISA), which was conducted from January through May 2014. The results have not yet been released. The plan for cycle 3 is to use the short DSQ to reduce interview time. Although the long and short DSQ do not use the same definition of disability, based on the long DSQ, the disability definition that the short DSQ would yield can be simulated. Therefore, cycle 2 results can be made comparable to those of cycle 3. Because the survey is longitudinal, it will be possible to compare the disability status of respondents from one cycle to the next.

General Social Survey (GSS)

The first official use of the short DSQ was on the 2014 GSS on Victimization (Cycle 28). Interviews for this cycle were conducted using CATI only. The short DSQ were also included in the Pilot test for the GSS on Time Use (Cycle 29) in July 2014 and in the main collection in 2015, which employed both CATI and EQ collection modes. Data for cycle 28 was released in the fall of 2015. It is planned that other GSS cycles will contain the short DSQ, including the 2016 Canadians at Work and at Home Survey (Cycle 30).

The “Audit Trail” files from cycle 28 show that the short DSQ averaged 1 minute 53 seconds to administer, which is slightly shorter than the anticipated 2-minute duration.  

Canadian Income Survey (CIS)

The CIS used the short DSQ for its January to April 2014 collection. For the CIS, every member of a selected household completes the survey. In order not to increase total household interview time, only one randomly selected member was asked the DSQ. A special survey weight ensures that the sample of DSQ respondents is representative of the population aged 15 or older. 

The CIS “Audit Trail” files show that the short DSQ took on average 1 minute 59 seconds to administer for the first month of collection, 1 minute 58 seconds for the second month, and 1 minute 53 seconds for the last two months.

The results were released in July, 2015. The DSQ will be used for the next survey.

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