1 in 6 Flemings experience daily difficulties due to disability or impairment
Approximately one in six Flemish people, or 16 per cent, experience daily difficulties due to a disability or impairment, according to a new report by Statistics Flanders and the Flemish Agency for Persons with Disabilities (VAPH). The report also highlights a striking generation gap.
The researchers used a broad definition of “person with a disability”, based on both functional and emotional factors. “This broad measurement method mainly highlights groups that often remain under the radar in traditional statistics,” they stated.
According to the study, the majority of those affected – 13 per cent of Flemish people – experience “some degree of hindrance”. Three per cent report “serious hindrance”.
The study shows a clear socio-economic divide. The lower the level of education and subjective income, the more often and to a greater extent people experience hindrance due to a disability.
The report also highlights a striking generation gap: physical hindrance (such as difficulty seeing or moving) increases as we get older. The picture is the opposite for emotional hindrance: the younger the Flemish person, the more often they struggle with negative feelings. No less than 42 per cent of respondents feel anxious or nervous weekly or more often. 16 per cent feel depressed weekly or more often.
The results are based on data from 1,798 Flemish people aged 16 and over who participate in the scientific panel The Social Study (TSS).
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration © PHOTO IMAGEBROKER
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