Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, 2001 [Canada]

PALS is a post-censal national survey designed to collect information on adults and children with disabilities, that is, those whose everyday activities are limited because of a condition or health problem. PALS provides essential information on: bull; the prevalence of various disabilities, bull; support for persons with disabilities, bull; their employment profile, bull; their income and their participation in society. The data collected by PALS, combined with those from the Census, are an important source of information about specific characteristic traits of persons with disabilities. This is therefore a database that can be used by all levels of government, associations, researchers and nongovernmental organizations to support the planning of services that persons with activity limitations require in order to participate fully in society. The most recent data collected on persons with disabilities before PALS is from the 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS). In order to better identify the PALS target population, major changes were made to the structure of the sample and the filter questions identifying persons with disabilities. Therefore, comparisons between the 1986 and 1991 HALS and 2001 PALS surveys are not possible. On the other hand, these filter questions can now serve as a standard for identifying persons with disabilities in other Statistics Canada surveys. For additional information on the new survey approach, see the User Guide: Appendix E document entitled A New Approach to Disability Data: Changes between the 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) and the 2001 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS).