Health & Activity Limitation Survey, 1991 [Canada]: Adults in households

The 1991 Health Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) is a post-censal survey used to identify the number and distribution of persons with disabilities in Canada and the barriers experienced by them in such areas as housing, employment, transportation, education, community support, and recreation. The Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) was designed to collect data for a national database on disability. HALS is a post-censal survey, i.e., its survey frame is provided by the answers to two filter questions on the census questionnaire. It was first conducted after the 1986 Census of Population, and repeated after the 1991 census. It was not conducted after the 1996 census due to budget constraints. Survey year: 1991. Although there are some differences between the 1986 HALS and the 1991 HALS with respect to content and levels of geography, the objectives of the two surveys remain largely the same. The objectives for HALS are: to include persons with disabilities residing in the Yukon and Northwest Territories; to interview a sufficient number of persons with disabilities to enable the release of data for subprovincial areas (e.g. 17 Census Metropolitan Areas) as well as data on disabilities due to conditions that have a low prevalence. The target population of the 1991 HALS consisted of all persons with a physical, sensory, or psychological disability who were living in Canada at the 1991 Census, including residents of the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and permanent residents of most collective dwellings and health-care institutions. Although Indian reserves and settlements were included in the 1986 HALS, they were excluded from the 1991 HALS. Disablity data for Indian reserves and settlements may be obtained from the 1991 Aboriginal Peoples Survey, also conducted by Statistics Canada. Persons excluded for operational reasons were residents of penal institutions, correctional facilities, military camps, campgrounds and parks, soup kitchens, merchant and coastguard ships, and children's group homes. Data collection for the Household Survey took place in the Fall of 1991, immediately after the 1991 Census. Approximately 35,000 individuals were selected for the \"yes\" sample and 113,000 for the \"no\" sample, yielding a total of 148,000 adults and children for the household survey. Approximately 20% (or 7,000) of persons in the \"yes\" sample proved to have no disability according to HALS' criteria. For the 1986 HALS both a \"yes\" and a \"no\" sample were also selected. The \"yes\" sample size of 112,000 was significally larger in 1986 than in 1991, while the \"no\" sample of 72,5000 was smaller for the 1986 HALS. Due to a larger sample size for the 1986 HALS, data are available from the 1986 HALS for 200 sub-provincial areas and 19 CMAs. For detailed description of the differences between the 1986 and the 1991 HALS, please refer to Appendix B. The Household Survey was carried out in two stages. The first stage involved adding two questions to the 1991 Census long questionnaire, and the second involved conducting the actual survey for adults and children. Data collection for the Institutions Survey was carried out from January to March, 1992. All interviews were conducted in person and, whenever possible, with the selected individual. However, due to their conditions, many residents were not able to answer the questions themselves. In these cases the interviews were conducted with the help of institutional staff or next-of-kin. The response rate for the Institutions Survey was 96%.