4423.0 - Focus on Families: Caring in Families: Support for Persons who are Older or have Disabilities, 1993  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/03/1995  Ceased
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All
  • Glossary

GLOSSARY

DISABILITY AND HANDICAP

Disability
The International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps' definition for disability is as follows:

    In the context of health experience, a disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.
In this publication disability is defined as the presence of one or more of a selected group of limitations, restrictions or impairments which had lasted, or were likely to last, for a period of six months or more.

Disability without handicap
A person with a disability without a handicap has one of the broad limitations, restrictions or impairments as given for disability, but is not restricted in any of the specific tasks given to identify persons with a handicap.

Employment limitation
See handicap.

Establishments
Hospitals, homes for the aged, nursing homes, hostels, and retirement villages which have a support component.

Handicap
A limitation in performing certain tasks associated with daily living. The limitation must be due to a disability and in relation to one or more of the areas listed below.
  • Self care - showering, bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, bladder/bowel control;
  • Mobility (profound, severe or moderate handicap), includes:
- difficulties going places away from the house or establishment;
- moving about the house or establishment; and
- transferring to or from a bed or chair.
A mild mobility handicap is a limitation in walking 200 metres, walking up or down stairs without a handrail; or using public transport.
  • Verbal communication (in the person's native language):
understanding or being understood by strangers, family, friends or staff of the establishment;
  • Schooling - limited in the ability to attend school or needing to attend a special school or special classes;
  • Employment - limited in the ability to work, the type of work performed; and other work problems such as the amount of time off required and special arrangements which need to be made.

Persons aged less than 5 years with one or more disabilities were all regarded as having a handicap, but were not classified by area of handicap. This was due to difficulties inherent in determining whether the needs of children aged less than 5 years were a function of their age or their disability.

Impairment
The World Health Organisation's definition:
'In the context of health experience, an impairment is any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function.'

Mobility handicap
See Handicap.

Older person
Aged 60 years or more.

Self care handicap
See Handicap.

Severity of handicap
Four levels of severity (profound, severe, moderate and mild) were determined for self-care, mobility and verbal communication. These levels were based on the person's ability to perform tasks relevant to these three areas and on the amount and type of help required.

For each area of handicap, the levels of severity are as follows:
      profound - personal help or supervision is always required;
      severe - personal help or supervision sometimes required ;
      moderate - no personal help or supervision required, but the person has difficulty in performing one or more of the tasks;
      mild - no personal help or supervision required and no difficulty in performing any of the tasks, but the person uses an aid, or has a mild mobility handicap, or cannot easily pick up an object from the floor.
The highest level of severity in any one of the areas of self-care, mobility and verbal communication determines the severity of total handicap. Severity was not determined for people with only an employment and/or schooling limitation.

Schooling limitation
See Handicap.

Verbal communication
See Handicap.


EMPLOYMENT

Employed
Persons aged 15 years and over and currently work for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and self-employed persons), or work without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. unpaid family helpers).

Employees
Persons aged 15 years and over who worked in their current position for an employer for wages or salary including owner-managers (i.e. persons who worked in their own business, with or without employees, if that business was a limited liability company). School students aged 15 to 20 years who also worked as wage and salary earners and persons who worked solely for payment in kind were excluded.

Full-time employed
Persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week in all jobs.

Labour force
Persons aged 15 years and over who are employed or unemployed.

Labour force participation rate
The number of persons who are employed or unemployed, expressed as a percentage of all persons in that group.

Labour force status
Classifies persons as employed, unemployed or not in the labour force. For the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, this classification excludes school students.

Not in the labour force
Persons who are not employed in any job, business or farm, and have not looked for work during the last four weeks, and those permanently unable to work. Also included are those people who are looking for work, but if offered a job, could not start work within the next week.

Part-time employed persons
Persons who usually work less than 35 hours per week in all jobs.

Unemployed
Persons who are not currently employed in any job, business or farm and have looked for work during the last four weeks and would be able to start work within the next week.


FAMILY/HOUSEHOLD STRUCTURE

Child
A family member with at least one parent (natural or step) in the same or another household, and who may or may not have a child (natural or step) or spouse of their own.

Couple
Two usual residents, both aged 15 years and over, who are either registered married to each other or living in a de facto relationship with each other. Prior to 1994, the ABS did not classify a homosexual couple as a couple in its collections. All surveys in this publication were collected prior to 1994 therefore homosexual couples appear as 'unrelated individuals' in a family or group household.

Dependent child
A usual resident aged under 15 years, or aged 15 to 24 years and studying full-time.

Family
Two or more persons who are related to each other by blood, marriage, de facto partnering, fostering or adoption.

Household
A lone person or a group of people who usually reside together. Communal institutions (e.g. boarding schools, mental institutions) are excluded. A household may consist of:
  • one person;
  • one family;
  • one family and unrelated individuals;
  • related families with or without unrelated individual(s);
  • unrelated families with or without unrelated individual(s);
  • unrelated individuals.

Parent
A person with a child (natural, step or otherwise related) living in the same or another household, and that child may or may not have a partner or child of their own.

Partner
A spouse in a de facto relationship or registered marriage between people of the opposite sex usually resident in the same household. Prior to 1994, the ABS did not classify homosexuals as partners in its collections. All surveys in this publication were collected prior to 1994 therefore homosexual partners appear as 'unrelated individuals' in a family or group household.

Spouse
A non-sex-specific term which means registered marriage or de facto partner.

Usual resident
A person who lives in a selected private dwelling and regards it as their only or main home.


PERSONAL CARE/HOME HELP/CHILD CARE

Activities
Refers to activities for which help can be provided for a person with a disability or an older person These are:
  • self-care;
  • mobility;
  • verbal communication;
  • health care;
  • home help;
  • home maintenance and gardening;
  • meal preparation;
  • financial management and letter writing, and
  • transport.

Health care includes giving medication, dressing wounds and caring for feet. Financial management refers to paying bills, keeping track of expenses and managing money. See also Handicap.

Carer
A person of any age who provides help/informal care to a person with a disability or a person who is aged 60 or more for any of the activities listed above. A recipient of care may have up to three carers for each activity.

Formal care/help
Assistance provided to a person with a disability or a person who is aged 60 and over by:
  • an organisation or individuals representing such organisations;
  • family or friends living outside the household who receive money on a regular basis for providing care; or
  • other persons (excluding family and friends) who provide care on a regular basis.

Informal care/help is help provided to a person with a disability or a person who is aged 60 and over, by family, friends or neighbours. Generally, this help is unpaid.

Main carer
A person of any age identified by the recipient of care as providing the most help/informal care for one of the activities listed above. A recipient of care may have more than one main carer, but can only have one main carer for each activity.

Principal carer
A person aged 15 years and over providing the most informal care for the activities of self-care, mobility or verbal communication. Principal carers who live in the same household as the recipient of care are chosen (by the care recipient) from the main carers nominated for the activities of self-care, mobility or verbal communication. A recipient can identify only one principal carer. Principal carers who live outside the household are identified as providing the most informal care to a person in another household for the activities of self-care, mobility or verbal communication.

Provider of help
The usual source of help, nominated by a person with a disability or a person who is aged 60 and over. Up to 3 providers of informal help and two sources of formal help can be identified.

Recipient of care
A person with a disability or a person aged 60 and over who is receiving care or help with any of the activities listed above.