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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Difficulties encountered in estimating disability related to mental disorders in a general population survey. The French Disability and Health Survey example

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A better understanding of disability phenomenon linked to mental disorders is a main issue in France. The data collected in the Disability and Health Survey carried out in France in 2008 and 2009 among the general population could help reach that aim. The methodological point of view of this article aims at showing why improving the knowledge concerning disability linked to mental disorders remains a difficult task, even when the collected data cover the entire spectrum of health and disability (including environmental information).The first categories of difficulties derive from the lack of consensus about the definition of disability linked to mental disorders –named “Handicap psychique” in France. Secondly, there might be difficulties - due to disability itself or to the qualitative nature of many problems - to declare one’s difficulties on discontinue items. Analyzing data collected in ordinary households shows that information related to mental diseases, mental impairments and activities limitations linked to mental disorders do not completely overlap each other, which may partially come from a lack of reliability. Nevertheless, the variety of the information allows useful descriptions of mental health related problems, even if it does not exactly fit the stakeholders’ expectations.