Ask users about disabilities

[henocookie]

What

A pattern to ask users about their disability or disabilities. See the GOV.UK Design System Ask users for Equality information pattern. Also check the GOV.UK Design System backlog issue for this pattern.

Why

In our work on the guidance on asking good questions for forms, we found that teams working in health need to know how best to ask for this information.

Related links

• 423

• Inclusion issues in the community backlog

[cazzzac]

For context, we are asking users in the NHS Cumberlege programme Patient Reported Outcomes Measures questionnaire whether they have a disability.

We're assuming that we would need more information than a yes/no to take action on that data. So we're working on whether we need a specific list of disabilities from clinicians that may affect/relate to that specific operation/procedure type, or whether we just need a yes/no answer.

[cazzzac]

https://nhsd-jira.digital.nhs.uk/browse/CUMP-3009

[sarawilcox]

Some interesting discussion in this blog post, which includes comments by @cjforms: Asking about Disabilities and other Sensitive Information in Online Forms.

[Francesca420]

Some feedback about asking for access needs and additional support from NHS Volunteering, a new service for NHS organisations to advertise their volunteering opportunities and receive applications, and for potential volunteers to find out about and apply for volunteering opportunities in the NHS.

In addition to the disability question in the equality information, we have added a question on the level of support needed within the application journey to offer applicants an opportunity to make organisations aware of any support they need while carrying out their volunteering opportunities.

We provided some examples of possible support needed in the guidance box. Although some users wanted this question to be more specific about what part of the process it is referring to (application or while on duty), users appreciated being asked about any support they might need. Some NHS organisations currently include a similar question in their existing application form, and those who don't responded well to receiving this piece of information early in the journey and being seen as inclusive by applicants. Some recruiters we spoke to were unsure if the question would create expectations for volunteers around being able to make all types of reasonable adjustments requested.