Cutoff for Benchmark Disability Using World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study from Rural South India

BACKGROUND: India uses the Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS) for quantifying disability due to mental illness. The cutoff score for benchmark disability is 7. India has adopted International Classification of Functioning and Health (ICF) and thereby is a signatory to use World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS). Cutoff for benchmark disability in WHODAS in a community-based sample is lacking. METHODS: The study was conducted in Jagaluru Taluk, Davanagere District, Karnataka. It is a part of an ongoing research funded by Indian Council of Medical Research. Frequency, percentages, mean, standard deviations, mode, median, Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve were used in analyzing the data. RESULTS: The study included 184 persons with severe mental illness with mean age of 47 and average duration of illness (DOI) of 11 years. They had mild disability (5.99) in IDEAS. The corresponding cutoff score in WHODAS, as compared to IDEAS, when the influence of DOI is removed was 24. CONCLUSIONS: A shift from IDEAS to WHODAS is feasible. With the undue influence of DOI removed, both hospital and community-based samples show the score of 24 as cutoff.