Socioeconomic Inequalities in Social Protection Among People with Disabilities in Ecuador: A Cross-Sectional Study

In 2007, Ecuador ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and introduced a national social programme to improve access and quality of life for people with disabilities. This study assessed disability prevalence and socioeconomic inequalities in three social protection outcomes: household visits, benefits received during visits, and official disability accreditation. A cross-sectional study analysed data from the 2014 national population-based survey, which showed a 3.84% disability prevalence. Overall, 37% of respondents reported at least one household visit among them, 77% received a benefit and 60% had official accreditation. Marked socioeconomic disparities expressed in absolute differences were observed. Visits were less frequent among individuals without formal education (AD: −30.41; 95% CI: −37.15, −14.09) and those in the poorest households (AD: −17.74; 95% CI: −23.01, −12.48). Participants with primary education were less likely to receive benefits (AD: −19.51; 95% CI: −32.83, −6.19), while Afro-Ecuadorian (AD: 20.07; 95% CI: 4.20, 35.95) and Indigenous individuals (AD: 19.61; 95% CI: 6.99, 32.24) were more likely to receive them. Conversely, those with basic education (AD: 21.38; 95% CI: 13.53, 29.23) were more often accredited than those with higher education. Although the programme has reached many individuals, access remains unequal.