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Situation of the Taiwan's Disabled Kinds

The current situation of the families 
of the physically and mentally handicapped 
  Difficulties faced by families of 
the physically and mentally handicapped

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The current situation of the families of the physically and mentally handicapped

            According to the statistics of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were 1.198 million people in Taiwan who have a handbook for physical and mental disabilities, which is 5.1% of the total population by the end of March in 2021. In addition, the Department of Health and the Labor Committee of the Executive Yuan conducted "Survey Project on the Living Needs of People with Disabilities in Taiwan and Fujian Provinces” in Taiwan Province, Taipei City, Kaohsiung City, Fujian Province's Kinmen County, and Lianjiang County in 1989, here is a summary of the survey results as follows:

            Firstly, the male stands the more disabled population than female. Secondly, approximately 70% of the disabled have an education level below elementary school or junior high school. Lastly, the age level is divided into three conditions. The visually impaired, hearing impaired, and dementia tend to be older; mentally retarded and autistic patients are in infancy or pre-adolescence; other barriers are mainly the middle-aged or working-age population.

Basic information of the disabled population

Living conditions of the physically and mentally handicapped population

            Firstly, only half of the physically and mentally handicapped living in homes can take care of themselves independently; 7.5% still live in public and private penitentiaries. Secondly, the main caregivers of the physically and mentally handicapped who live at home are spouses, followed by mothers. Lastly, around 30% of the families with disabilities spend NTD $30,000 to $40,000 per month; around 46% of the families with disabilities are unable to make ends meet; around 46.1% of the families with disabilities receive a home living financial subsidy from the government.

            Firstly, there are still a small number of people with disabilities who do not participate in health insurance (about 0.3%). Holders of health insurance cards use an average of 4.7 cards per year. The proportion of hospitalizations is 27% among the people with disabilities who participate in the health insurance, and the average number of hospitalizations per year is 2.6. Secondly, more than 40% of people with disabilities have the concern of not being able to afford the medical expenses or cannot complete the registration procedures independently; there is also one-fourth of people with disabilities concerned about the transportation problem, or do not know the way to find a doctor. Thirdly, 22.1% of people with disabilities had accidents in the past years. Among the accidents, the hearing impaired had the highest proportion of accidents, followed by visually impaired persons. Lastly, people with disabilities believe that the government should give priority to medical assistance, followed by regular free health check-ups.

Medical services and health care

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Image Source: Yu-Cheng Social Welfare Foundation

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Employment Service and Vocational Training

            Firstly, among the population with physical and mental disabilities over the age of fifteen, 19.1% are employed and 5.0% are unemployed; 75.9% are non-laborers, of which 34.9% are unable to work due to severe physical disabilities. Secondly, among the disabled employees, relatives and friends introduce the most employment methods, followed by self-applying. In addition, most are engaged in non-technical and service industries. Thirdly, more than 50% of the disabled who are employed have small factories with less than ten people in their workplaces. The average monthly salary of employed persons with disabilities is about NTD $25,881; the average working hours per week is 49.1 hours, and the number of overtime hours is 1.1 hours. Fourthly, the most common proportions of barrier-free facilities in the workplace are wheelchair ramps, handrails, and electronic voice broadcast systems. The proportion of other barrier-free facilities is less than 10%. The improvement projects and scope of the workplace still need to be strengthened. Moreover, the biggest subjective problem for the disabled in the workplace is feeling that the jobs are insecure. More than 60% of the currently unemployed people with disabilities want to work in a type of getting off work with a monthly salary. Lastly, more than 90% of the physically and mentally disabled have not received vocational training. The majority of the ones who are willing to receive vocational training want to learn the skills involving computers in the business service industry.

Image Source:
 Taipei Detention center, Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice

Image Source: Parents Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability, Taiwan