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Disabilities

Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations.

Thus disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.


GENERAL INFORMATION

Q&As
What is E-Accessibility?

What is being done to improve the daily lives of people with disabilities?

MULTIMEDIA

Feature
Images of health and disability

RELATED TOPICS

- International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
- Burden of Disease Project
- Injuries and disabilities: tsunami in Asia

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Community-based rehabilitation (CBR)

Assistive devices/technologies

- More about disabilities

PUBLICATIONS

Promoting sexual and reproductive health for persons with disabilities

Guidelines for training personnel in developing countries for prosthetic and orthotic services [pdf 722kb]

- More publications about disabilities

STATISTICS

Burden of Disease statistics


WHO PROGRAMMES AND ACTTIVITIES

Disability and rehabilitation
DISABILITIES IN WHO REGIONS

African Region
Region of the Americas
South-East Asia Region
European Region
Eastern Mediterranean Region


KEY WHO INFORMATION

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