The right to health and accountability

Self-reported health of people with intellectual disability

Self-reported health is an important outcome in the evaluation of health care but is largely ignored in favor of proxy-based reporting for people with an intellectual disability. This study briefly reviews the role of self-report in health assessment of people with intellectual disability and the challenges and recommendations that have emerged from the considerable body of research on interviewing and self-report. Limitations in current recommendations are addressed from the perspective of the cognition of self-report. The review describes conceptual directions for the reconciliation of the two contradictory themes in the treatment of self-report: the centrality given to personal perceptions and choices and the methodological concerns over the meaningfulness and validity of the self-reporting process.