Assessment of individuals with disabilities in Latin America: a comparative study of the legislation

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to analyze the legislation relating to individuals with disabilities in Latin America, focusing on the definition of individuals with disabilities and how they are certified as such. Method: In this investigation,the legal provisions in force in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela were retrieved via the internet. It was then sought to identify the following: the specificity of guarantees of human rights and fundamental freedoms for individuals with disabilities, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the definition of disability and individuals with disability; what criteria are applied, i.e. whether a specific table, the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) or the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is used;and whether the disability is assessed in a biomedical or biopsychosocial manner, i.e.whether this is done solely by a doctor or is a multiprofessional assessment, and whether, if done by a doctor, there is any support through psychological or social worker evaluation when necessary. Results: With the exception of Cuba, for which no specific legislation was found, the legislation dealing with individuals with disabilities in the other Latin American countries investigated in this study has been constructed in line with the main provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela, disabilities are assessed and certified through tables or the ICD or ICF. Biopsychosocial assessments Assessment of Individuals with Disabilities in Latin America: a Comparative Study of the Legislation