[GB] Life Opportunities Survey

Full name of the series in original language

Life Opportunities Survey

Abstract

The Life Opportunities Survey (LOS), which began in 2009, is a large scale longitudinal survey of disability in Great Britain, designed to follow individuals over time. It is the first major ONS social survey to explore disability in terms of the social barriers to participation that people experience. The last major survey of disability in Great Britain was the Disability Follow-up to the 1996/97 Family Resources Survey. Prior to that were the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) national surveys of disability carried out during 1985-88. In 2005, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) sponsored a feasibility study which recommended that a new dedicated disability survey was required. In 2007 the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) commissioned the ONS to develop this new longitudinal survey of disability.

The survey compares the experiences of disabled people with those of nondisabled people. Consequently it includes both disabled and non disabled people, aged 16 and over in private households in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Parents or guardians will be asked to provide some key data about children aged 11 to 15.

This new survey was needed to meet the following long term information needs on experiences of disabled people living in Great Britain:

• dynamics of disability over time, including the factors associated with transitions and onsets of impairment;
• social participation by disabled people;
• up-to-date prevalence rates of impairments.

The LOS addresses two important weaknesses of previous disability surveys. First, it takes into account both environmental and social factors that influence experiences of disability. Information is collected on impairments, but, unlike the previous disability surveys this is not equated with disability status. The survey explores the barriers to life opportunities that people both with and without impairments face and then assesses the extent of additional disadvantage experienced by people with impairments due to the range of social barriers, discrimination or lack of support, assistance and adjustments. Second, the LOS follows a longitudinal design. This will enable researchers to monitor transitions into and out of states of disability.

The LOS is a longitudinal survey. This means it will track the experiences of disabled people over time to assess transitions through key life stages, such as moving from childhood to adulthood or in and out of work. The longitudinal design enables three distinct groups to be followed over time:

• disabled group
• comparison group of non-disabled people
• a larger non-disabled group, monitored for the onset of impairment over time
  Respondents will be interviewed every 12 months, whether they are resident in the original household or have since moved. Following the baseline survey only the first two groups will be interviewed face-to-face. The third group will be monitored over time via a shorter telephone interview to check for the onset of an impairment. If any member of the household has experienced the onset of impairment, they will be invited to take part in a face to face interview.

The LOS contains information on individuals, but analysis at the household level is also possible. The LOS questionnaire is divided into two parts. The first part is the Integrated Household Survey (IHS) core module. The core module collects basic demographic information and other household information for all members of the household. The second part of the questionnaire is the LOS module. This module is administered to each adult in the household and they are asked questions about: socio-demographics, education and training, employment, economic life and living standards, transport, leisure, social and cultural activities, social contact, housing, accessibility in the home, accessibility of public services, domestic life and social care, discrimination, crime, impairments and health conditions, disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act, income and benefits.

Further information about the LOS series is available from the ONS LOS web pages:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/get-involved/taking-part-in-a-survey...

Geographic coverage

United Kingdom

Time method

Longitudinal

Time period

2009 => 2012

Types of available microdata

Consistency type

Access mode

Update date

15/09/2021