What predictors are associated with the social inclusion of people with disabilities? A comparison of community-based rehabilitation participants to the general population in Vietnam

Purpose: To estimate which predictors from the World Health Organization's Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Indicators have the strongest association with the social inclusion of people with disabilities who participate in CBR compared to the general population. Methods: Data were collected using the CBR Indicators survey in Vietnam, including both CBR participants and the general population. A social inclusion score was created using seven questions covering the domains of interpersonal relationships and community participation. Additional questions were used as predictors and were grouped into five theoretical categories: sociodemographic, health, education, livelihood, and empowerment. Multivariate linear regression was used to show which predictors had a significant association with social inclusion. Results: Seven predictors (one health, three livelihood, and three empowerment) explained 70.9% of the variance in social inclusion for CBR participants and seven predictors (two health, one education, three livelihood, and one empowerment) explained 58.8% of the variance for the general population. Age, gender, education, employment, and self-rated health had non-significant associations in both populations. Conclusions: Livelihood and empowerment predictors showed the strongest association with social inclusion of CBR participants, and livelihood predictors for the general population. CBR programs should emphasize livelihood and empowerment activities to increase social inclusion of people with disabilities.