What is the WHODAS?

The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) is a valuable tool for people with Parkinson’s because it provides a standardised way to measure health and disability across different cultures and settings. It helps assess the impact of Parkinson’s on various aspects of your daily life over the past 30 days, including:

  • Cognition: Understanding and communicating
  • Mobility: Moving and getting around
  • Self-care: Attending to hygiene, dressing, eating, and staying alone
  • Getting along: Interacting with other people
  • Life activities: Domestic responsibilities, leisure, work, and school
  • Participation: Joining in community activities and participating in society.

Why should I take the WHODAS?

Remember, the WHODAS provides a 30-day snapshot of disability. By assessing these areas of daily life, WHODAS helps you and your care team understand the specific challenges you face and they can tailor their interventions accordingly. If you retake it at regular intervals (i.e. every 30 days or before each appointment), it’s a valuable tool for tracking changes over time. It can help your care team know which interventions may be working for you or not to improve your quality of life.

Not only is the WHODAS useful for your care team, but along with the other information you can collect in the app, it can also help strengthen your NDIS application or reviews when included as supporting information.

How can I take the WHODAS? 

Using the YOPX app, you (or your care partner or friend) can easily complete a range of surveys, check-ins and questionnaires including the WHODAS. This information is only stored on your phone and can be emailed to you by exporting the pdf of “My NDIS Info.”  This information can strengthen your NDIS application or be provided to your care team at regular intervals. We have added the ability to clear your old answers so it is even easier to retake any of the questionnaires.

The WHODAS in the app is a self-administered version from the Measuring health and disability : manual for WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (‎WHODAS 2.0)‎. This can also be completed by a health professional in an interview-style format.

Sources: 

WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0)

Measuring health and disability : manual for WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (‎WHODAS 2.0)‎. Malta: World Health Organization; 2010. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

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