Russians see positive changes in the attitudes of people towards the disabled people as well as improved accessibility for them in urban areas.
MOSCOW, August 16, 2018. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data of a survey devoted to the 30th anniversary of the All-Russian Society of the Disabled People.
Most of Russians (69%) personally know people with disabilities. In this group, every fifth (20%) has someone with a disability in their families. A further 8% say that they are disabled themselves.
Thirty-six percent of Russians consider that the major challenge the disabled people face today is to get around the city (namely, poor sidewalks and the absence of ramps). This stance is shared by 41% of those who do not know personally anyone with disabilities and 18% of the disabled themselves. Other problems include small allowances and inability to get in and out of the house (27%, for each).
Every fourth respondent (25%) believes that the disabled persons experience employment problems: those who think so are mainly respondents who do not know disabled people personally (27%), whereas the share of the disabled persons who think the same way is smaller (21%). A further one-quarter of respondents (25%) say that the main problem of the disabled people is poor availability of necessary medicines.
The disabled people (43%) and members of their families (32%) report that their major problems are the availability of necessary medicines. Small allowances (36%) and poor availability of sanatorium treatment vacation packages (24%) are other major issues according to people with disabilities.
Russians say that the situation of disabled persons has improved. More than half respondents (52%) point out improvements in public attitudes towards the disabled over the recent 5-10 years (an increase from 26% in 2010). Family members (43%) and the disabled people themselves (37%) less often mention positive changes in the attitudes towards people with disabilities. Seven percent point to deterioration in such attitudes (vs 19% in 2010).
Fifty percent of respondents are confident that over the recent five years there have been improvements in the accessibility of urban environments for the disabled people. Residents of Moscow and St Petersburg notice these changes more frequently (70%). Forty-three percent of respondents see no changes (especially those living in urban areas (54%)).
The VCIOM-Sputnik survey was commissioned by All-Russia Society of Disabled People and conducted on August 6, 2018. The survey involved 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over. The survey was telephone-based and was carried out using stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of landline and mobile phone numbers operating in Russia. The data were weighted according to selection probability and social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.
Do you personally know people with disabilities? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Yes, I do | 69 |
No, I don’t | 23 |
I am disabled myself | 8 |
Don’t know | 0 |
Is there a disabled person in your family? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who personally know people with disabilities or those who are disabled themselves) | |
| % of those who personally know people with disabilities or those who are disabled themselves |
Yes | 20 |
No | 80 |
In your opinion, what are the basic problems the disabled people face in Russia today? (closed-ended question, not more than 3 answers, % of total respondents) |
| |||||
| Total respondents | Who have friends with disabilities | Who do not have friends with disabilities | I am disabled myself | Members of the families of disabled people | |
Difficulties getting around the city (poor sidewalks, lack of ramps, etc.) | 36 | 36 | 41 | 18 | 28 | |
Small allowances | 27 | 28 | 24 | 36 | 27 | |
Getting in and out of the house (absence of elevator, ramps, narrow doorframes, etc.) | 27 | 29 | 27 | 14 | 20 | |
Employment problems | 25 | 24 | 27 | 21 | 18 | |
Availability of necessary medicines | 25 | 26 | 17 | 43 | 32 | |
Lack of necessary medical equipment in hospitals | 21 | 21 | 23 | 18 | 23 | |
Unavailability of modern rehabilitation equipment (wheelchairs, artificial limbs, etc.) | 18 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 14 | |
Receiving the established allowances | 13 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 18 | |
Hostile and untactful attitudes of people around | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
Unavailability of sanatorium treatment vacation packages | 10 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 18 | |
Getting education | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | |
Limited choice in terms of entertainment and leisure activities | 7 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 6 | |
Other | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 7 | |
Don’t know | 8 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 6 | |
In your opinion, have the public attitudes towards the disabled persons improved/worsened/stayed the same over the recent 5-10 years in Russia? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) |
| |||
| 1991 | 2010 | 2018 | |
Improved | 20 | 26 | 52 | |
Worsened | 31 | 19 | 7 | |
Stayed the same | 31 | 45 | 35 | |
Don’t know | 18 | 10 | 6 | |
In your opinion, have the public attitudes towards the disabled persons improved/worsened/stayed the same over the recent 5-10 years in Russia? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) 2018 |
| |||||
| Total respondents | Who have friends with disabilities | Who do not have friends with disabilities | I am disabled myself | Members of the families of disabled people | |
Improved | 52 | 53 | 56 | 37 | 43 | |
Worsened | 7 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 10 | |
Stayed the same | 35 | 35 | 31 | 43 | 42 | |
Don’t know | 6 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 5 | |
In your opinion, has the accessibility of urban environments for the disabled persons changed in your place of residence over the recent 5 years? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |||||||
| Total respondents | Moscow and St Petersburg | Million cities | 500-950, 000 | 100-500,000 | Up to 100,000 | Rural area |
Likely to have improved | 50 | 70 | 59 | 62 | 52 | 43 | 38 |
Likely to have worsened | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Stayed the same | 43 | 23 | 35 | 33 | 43 | 50 | 54 |
Don’t know | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!