Final Report on the Alternative Formats and Support Options for the Disability Wellbeing Index (DWI): Promoting Accessibility, Safety, and Self Reporting for Survey Respondents

Abstract

The Centre for Disability Research and Policy (CDRP), University of Sydney, was contracted to contribute to a three-year research project, 2022-2024, funded by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and lead by Associate Professor Gang Chen, Monash University. The overarching aim of this research project was to design and test a preference-based wellbeing instrument that captures factors impacting on the wellbeing of people with disability in Australia, now known as the Disability Wellbeing Index (DWI). The role of the team based at the CDRP was to facilitate people with disabilities being involved in each stage of the research, including accessibility, safe environment, and self-reporting considerations for survey respondents. This is the final of four reports documenting the contribution of the team at the CDRP. In this report, we describe the implementation of the alternative formats and support options offered to DWI survey respondents and our understanding of factors that facilitated (or did not) NDIS participants completing the DWI survey. These insights will help refine future iterations of the DWI and provide guidance for improving the provision of accessible communications to people with disability.