Disability and its prevalence and cause in northwestern Ethiopia: evidence from Dabat district of Amhara National Regional State: A community based cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Disability is not just a factor of an individual’s physical condition; it develops through human interactions and reflects the social fabric of communities. Despite the fact that it directly affects 15% of Ethiopians, understanding and policy-relevant studies on disability and the conditions of persons with disabilities are lacking. The Dabat Demographic and Health Surveillance System part of the response to fill this gap. With significant drawbacks in the Surveillance System, this study aimed at assessing the prevalence, types and major causes of disability in Dabat district.Method A community-based cross-sectional study design was employed and covered 17,000 households residing in 13 Kebeles of Dabat district. The district is where DHSS collects health data semi-annually; but this study was designed and executed separately in 2018 utilizing robust tools (World Health Organization’s Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) used to collect comprehensive data on disability in the district. The data was organized and presented using frequencies and percentages in table and figures. Relevant variables were used to construct a logit model that predicts the likelihood of disability whereby P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results This study found that the overall prevalence of disability in Dabat district was 2.14% [95% CI: 2.03, 2.24]. About 8.3% of households reported at least one member with disability. Visual impairment was the most commonly reported impairment d51%) while 8.19% had multiple impairments. Eighty-three percent of immediate the causes of disability were modifiable – specifically, illness (36.93%), injury (17.81%), and congenital (10.86%). The aged [AOR=1.0; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.04], those unable to read or write illiterate [AOR=1.57; 1.15,2.14], the unmarried/single [AOR=1.39; 95% CI: 185,2.47] and the separated [AOR=2.78; 95% CI: 4.14,6.19] were more likely to risk disability in the population.Conclusion This study reported an increased likelihood of impairment among those with advanced ages. The proportion of households with PwDs was also high. While most disabilities were visual, there were significant numbers with mobility impairments and hard of hearing. Most school-age PwDs did not complete secondary education, while employment was significantly limited. The findings indicated that most causes of disability were reversible.