title: Disability measurement for lymphatic filariasis: a review of generic tools used within morbidity management programs.
abstract: Lymphatic filariasis (LF)-related disability affects 40 million people globally, making LF the leading cause of physical disability in the world. Despite this, there is limited research into how the impacts of LF-related disability are best measured. This article identifies the tools currently being used to measure LF-related disability and reviews their applicability against the known impacts of LF. The findings from the review show that the generic disability tools currently used by LF programs fail to measure the majority of known impacts of LF-related disability. The findings from the review support the development of an LF-specific disability measurement tool and raise doubt about the suitability of generic disability tools to assess disability related to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) globally.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland, Australia. lynne.zeldenryk@jcu.edu.au
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeldenryk
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Speare
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Melrose
mesh_terms: D015510:Clinical Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D012720:Severity of Illness Index