In essence, the DDAQ comprises 30 items asking about awareness of the definition of disability and different forms of disability discrimination under the Equality Act (EqA).
Early DDAQ pilot responses (n=100) confirm lack of awareness of many aspects of the disability requirements of the EqA with a mean score of 17.76 with 38% scoring at 50% or less. This is for healthcare staff of whom 89% are professionals, most work routinely with people with disability and 76% have more than 5 years practice. Of 30 items 11 were known by less than half of staff, most commonly related to the definition of disability and duty to make reasonable adjustments to reduce disadvantage. Other gaps include discrimination arising without intent and the nature of victimisation' and 'protected' acts.
On a positive note, self ratings indicate a significant rise in reported awareness as a result of completing the DDAQ training exercise; 34% for all 100 healthcare staff; 40% for the 91 staff excluding 9 with little need or scope increase ratings by mean increase for other staff; and 89% for the 42 staff scoring 5/10 or below prior to training. These increases as a result of a 15-20 min. exercise suggests a lack of effective staff training .
A report of initial pilot HC100 is available to download below: 'DDAQ HC100 24.03.25'
The link below will take you to the DDAQ on-line in Google Forms. Prior to completion you will be asked to provide your email address so that you can be emailed a copy of your completed form following submission. The emails are for this purpose only and will be deleted regularly and not be retained on the spreadsheet. For access see link below:
https://forms.gle/18cWEzXpWQgfG6A39
If the link does not work for any reason, if you email me I can email the DDAQ direct. NB The Introduction to the DDAQ provides important background information (including authors, copyright, permissions and acknowledgements) before completing the DDAQ . (See downloads below).
The source references quoted in the DDAQ are included at the end of the questionnaire.
Guidance source paragraphs for each individual DDAQ question are set out in a separate downloadable document - (see downloads below).