The use of a registry case load survey in predicting trends in rehabilitative needs for the handicapped.

Abstract

A special follow-up study of handicapped children was carried out to determine the level of residual disability in the caseload of the British Columbia Health Surveillance Registry. A total of 10,689 cases, aged seven or fourteen years were surveyed. Sixty-eight per cent of seven-year-olds and sixty-five per cent of fourteen-year-olds had a residual handicap. Of 3,131 seven-year-olds with a residual handicap, four per cent were not attending a school of any kind. Three per cent of the 4,094 fourteen-year-olds with a residual handicap were not attending school. These figures, along with prevalence statistics obtained through other Registry procedures provide useful minimal data for planning rehabilitative facilities for handicapped persons.