Certification of disability: A Scoping review

Introduction: The certification of disability emerged as a form of access to rights for persons with disabilities. However, aspects such as its denomination, approval and issuance process, and uses/benefits vary worldwide. Objective: To analyze available information on the disability certification process, whether it is referred to as certification, recognition, credential, or any other similar document. Materials and methods: Scoping review (OSF protocol record: 10.17605/OSF.IO/AHRB7). A search was conducted in Medline (PubMed), EMBASE, SCOPUS, LILACS (VHL regional portal), Web of Science, and additional literature sources and web pages of Latin American and OECD member countries' agencies and institutional entities. Studies and documents published between December 13, 2006, and August 21, 2023, in English, Spanish or Portuguese were considered. Results are presented in a descriptive-narrative form with a meta-aggregate approach and with emphasis on the concept. Results: Database searches resulted in the inclusion of 46 studies, with the majority being from India (n=20, 43.47%). In addition, 25 documents issued by 22 countries were included in the review based on searches in agency and institutional websites. Of these 22 countries, 19 (86.36%) use the World Health Organization definition and 13 (59.09%) refer to the document certifying the disability as a “disability certificate”. In all 22 countries, the process of issuing a certification is regulated by government entities and operated by health personnel, and they all require a valid identity document to initiate the certification process, with 95.45% of them basing the process on a medical diagnosis. The main benefits of this certificate include discounts on taxes and public transportation, and access to labor inclusion programs. Conclusions: The process of certifying disability in the 22 OECD and Latin American countries for which documents on disability certification were found is based on the globally accepted concept of disability, is regulated by government agencies, and is mostly based on a medical diagnosis (medical history review or evaluation by a medical board).