On the Map

In the last issue of ABILITIES, we outlined the goals of a new study that uniquely combines disability and literacy policy and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The aim of this project, entitled "The Geography of Literacy and Disability," is to create an atlas of maps that present a visual picture of the relationship between literacy, disability and related supports and services in Canada.

The study is already beginning to reveal the exciting potential of GIS for combining findings from sources that previously seemed incompatible.

In a perfect world, disability and literacy data would be available at detailed geographical levels that are comparable with each other, along with information about program response to literacy- and disability-related needs. In such a scenario, it would be easy to identify what types of services and organizations are needed and where, in order to meet the literacy needs of communities that include people with disabilities. Unfortunately, such is not the case here in Canada.

There are, however, ways to address this issue. In this study, we are using GIS to find meaningful results from combinations of separate disability, literacy and population surveys, as well as alternative sources of data. The following description of the six major data sources and methodologies we are using for our research provides an overview of how data from disparate sources can be brought together in a spatial format using Geographic Information Systems.

The Data Sources

The Census is the only source of population data that is available for all of Canada at a detailed geographic level. In addition to the geographic detail, the 1996 Census includes four pieces of information that form the basic data for our research - age, gender, disability status and highest level of schooling. The disability questions focus on limitation in activity in the home, at school or at work and in leisure activities, as well as the presence of any long-term disabilities. Highest level of schooling provides a measure of literacy. This is accepted as a crude measure of literacy, although it fails to reflect the complexity of how literacy skills play out in terms of peoples’ day-to-day lives.

The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) provides a more comprehensive examination of literacy skills of Canadians. It directly assesses literacy skills using commonplace tasks of varying degrees of difficulty drawn from a range of topic and knowledge areas. This information is augmented by basic background information (including highest level of schooling), self-assessment of literacy skills, recent training experiences and perceived barriers to realizing literacy goals. It presents literacy as a continuum of skills used in daily life, rather than a quality that one simply has or does not have. Canada is one of 20 countries and three intergovernmental organizations that came together to provide this internationally comparable assessment of literacy.

The National Population Health Survey (NPHS) is a longitudinal survey that re-interviews a group of Canadians every two years. The first interviews took place in 1994-95 and included 20,725 households. This provided the first measures of the level, trend and distribution of the health status of Canadians as well as the economic, social, demographic, occupational and environmental correlates of health. The 1996-97 cycle of data collection included questions on functional ability and activity restriction as well as information that will be used in this research to measure critical literacy.

The 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS ’91) provides a comprehensive picture of the impact of living with a disability in Canadian society. A follow-up survey of the 1991 Census of Population, HALS survey data also includes information provided on the Census questionnaire for each of the 145,000 respondents who participated in the survey. Key to our research are the data on the everyday barriers encountered by Canadians with disabilities and the impact that these barriers have on their ability to function within their community.

Two alternative data sources contain information about literacy and disability organizations in Canada. The first is the Canadian Abilities Foundation’s Directory of Disability Organizations in Canada, and second is the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) hypertext listing of literacy organizations. These contain data on organizations’ geographic location, mandate, populations served and other information.

Data Modeling MethodsWhile each of these surveys is useful according to its design and purpose, the surveys are not directly comparable. Various common factors link the information in one survey with the information in another, such as geography. We are using a variety of hierarchical regression models, spatial interpolation models, factor analyses and autocorrelation techniques to make more accurate geographical estimates and determine the actual relationships of literacy and disability in a precise manner.

The Maps As the project proceeds, we are producing maps based on the data with which we are working. Some of the maps, such as the one included on the previous page, draw directly on two separate data sources, without using any modeling techniques, and show relationships between two types of information at a glance. Figure A shows the geographical distribution of general disability rates from HALS, along with the location of disability organizations across the country. You can see in an instant where people with disabilities live in relation to the organizations that serve the disability community.

The maps are designed to be accessible. The colour schemes for the maps are produced using Color Brewer, a special web-based application that allows users to select colour schemes based on varying criteria. The colour schemes in these maps are designed to be readable by people with vision disabilities and colour blindness. (For more information on this tool, visit www.colorbrewer.com.)

CLARIFICATION

Picture This: Putting Literacy and Disability on the Map," who contacted us regarding Figure 1 on page 63.

The revised map, shown below, more clearly indicates the percentage of the provincial population with a disability, relative to the total provincial population.