**Chapter 3: Outline of the Baseline Survey

1) Objectives
Taking the background of each country into consideration, the objectives of the baseline survey are as below:
- To update the information on persons with disabilities in villages, communes and districts;
- To capture and analyze the current situation of persons with disabilities and serve as a basis for the planning of the APCD/JAIF Project activities; and
- To create a baseline that will serve as a basis for measuring impacts of project activities after the implementation of the APCD/JAIF Project in the target community.

2) Methodology
The methodology adopted in this survey follows participatory approaches ensuring participation of local stakeholders in planning and conducting the survey with the following 3 components:
- Social Demographics of Persons with Disabilities (age, gender, types of disabilities, education, employment);
- Accessibility (based on accessibility audit of selected buildings and establishments in the community); and 
- Attitudes of Persons with Disabilities /Parents/Persons without Disabilities in 3 areas: awareness/knowledge, attitudes/beliefs, and behavior/treatment.

Existing data available from the District Office and the Village Heads which was used in the profiling of persons with disabilities were utilized as a point of reference. Existing laws and regulations on disability in CLMV were used as legal basis in the conduct of accessibility audits. 

The data were collected via the following methods, using 3 forms as tools of the survey: Persons with Disabilities Registry Form, Accessibility Audit Form and Attitudinal Survey Form.
- Structured interviews with persons with disabilities, their parents and persons without disabilities via house to house survey or by invitation at specified meeting points;
- Accessibility audit of public buildings and establishments via site visits; and
- Document review of existing data on persons with disabilities in the district and relevant legislation regarding accessibility to public buildings and establishments. 

3) Line Ministries in CLMV
The project was implemented in consultation with the concerned government ministries in CLMV:
- Ministry of Social Affairs Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation of Cambodia;
- Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of Laos;
- Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement of Myanmar; and
- Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam.

4) Data Collection and Analysis
Basic statistics on social demographics of persons with disabilities, assessment on the accessibility of public buildings and establishments in the community, and assessment on the attitudes of persons with disabilities, their parents and persons without disabilities in the community were collected. The data from the survey were recorded on the 3 survey tools on the spot. On completion of the survey, the data were checked by the survey team members. At the end of each day, the survey tools were given to the team of interpreters for translation of the answers from native language into English for analysis.

5) Target Sites
The target communities were selected using a set of predefined criteria and identified in consultation with the concerned government ministries in CLMV. Local partners including the local government authorities and disabled peoples organizations (DPOs) were also consulted in the process. These criteria include willingness of local government officials to support disability related initiatives, presence of disability related programs, services, organizations, number of persons with disabilities, geographical accessibility, and security.  
   
As a result of the identification process of the project sites, the following communities have been identified: 
- Kien Svay District in Kandal Province, Cambodia; 
- Naxaithong District in Vientiane, Laos; 
- Pyapon Township in Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar; and 
- Ba Vi District in Hanoi, Vietnam.

image: Map of Project Sites

6) Interviewees
In total 798 persons were surveyed in CLMV. The breakdown is as below.


CambodiaPWD: 102
Non-PWD: 
98
Total: 
200


Laos
PWD: 
98
Non-PWD: 
100
Total: 
198
Myanmar
PWD: 
100
Non-PWD: 
100
Total: 
200


Vietnam
PWD: 
100
Non-PWD: 
100
Total: 
200


Total
PWD: 
400
Non-PWD: 
398

Grand Total: 
798


7) Limitations of the Survey
*Data Compatibility
Although the data collection process was similar among the 4 countries, data analysis was not compatible in some aspects. Some categories of data were presented in a country but not in the other 3 countries and vice versa.

*Data Sampling 
Ideally the data should be sampled randomly to avoid selection biases. However the selection of respondents was done with the support of village officials which may or may not follow random sampling. 

*Definition of Disability
The definition of disability is different across the 4 countries.  Therefore, persons with disabilities are categorized in different ways. This has the potential of providing overestimates or underestimates in certain types of disabilities. It should be clearly stated in the survey about the definition of persons with disabilities such as the one mentioned in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Besides, the survey team must have the same understanding/concept about persons with disabilities including categories of persons with disabilities and characteristics/nature of each category in order not to miss any category of data.

*Local Context 
As the local context in each of the 4 countries are not necessarily the same, local experts tried to modify the baseline survey tools to fit their own local context and add more clarity to the survey. However, this makes it difficult to make cross comparisons across the 4 countries, for example, comparisons of persons with disabilities and without disabilities, comparison between genders, categories of data, use of disability words/terms, and format of initial baseline survey results. 

image: Baseline Survey by Persons with Disabilities in Ba Vi District, Vietnam