Polio - The Late Effects Reality

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QUESTIONNAIRE & INTERVIEW FINDINGS

Profile of Respondents

The most defining feature about the respondents to the survey is that there is no typical profile. The only things the respondents have in common are the criteria of living in the Republic of Ireland and having had an incidence of paralytic Polio at some point in their medical history.

Out of the 224 respondents 78 (35%) were male to 146 (65%) female. Whilst this does not represent the demographic split of the country in general, namely 49.7% to 50.3%, respectively (CSO Census 2002), it is a true reflection of the membership split within the Post Polio Support Group. (The gender spilt amongst people with disabilities is 47% male to 53% female (CSO Census 2002).)

Chart showing number of respondents & year of birth

The average age of respondents was 60 years old, against a national average of 35.1 years (CSO Census 2002). The actual ages of respondents ranged from 37 to 87 years of age. Some 60% of respondents were under the age of 5 when they contracted Polio.

The Post Polio Support Group has a membership distribution across the whole country as can be seen from Table 1 below. This shows the geographic distribution shown against the national population in the form of a percentage differential.

Table 1 -National population Distribution v Post Polio Support Group Membership & Survey Distribution

Province or County	Population Census 2002	*% of State pop.*	Number of Post Polio Support Group Members 2003	*% of Post Polio Support Group Members*	*Difference State v. Post Polio Support Group %*	Survey Respondents	*% Survey Respondents*
STATE	3,917,336	*100*	444	*100*	-	224	*100*
Leinster	2,105,449	*53.8*	248	*55.9*	*2.1*	129	*57.6*
Carlow	45,845	1.2	10	2.2	1.0	6	2.7
Dublin	1,122,600	28.7	140	31.5	2.8	69	30.8
Kildare	163,995	4.2	14	3.2	-1.0	10	4.4
Kilkenny	80,421	2.1	6	1.4	-0.7	3	1.3
Laois	58,732	1.5	13	2.9	1.2	9	4.0
Longford	31,127	0.8	2	0.5	-0.3	0	0
Louth	101,802	2.6	7	1.6	-1.0	4	1.8
Meath	133,936	3.4	10	2.3	-0.9	4	1.8
Offaly	63,702	1.6	9	2.0	0.4	6	2.7
Westmeath	72,027	1.8	10	2.3	0.5	6	2.7
Wexford	116,543	3.0	13	2.9	-0.1	6	2.7
Wicklow	114,719	2.9	14	3.2	0.3	6	2.7
Munster	1,101,266	*28.1*	130	*29.3*	*1.2*	65	*28.9*
Clare	103,333	2.6	23	5.2	2.7	16	7.1
Cork	4448,181	11.4	62	14.0	2.6	27	12
Kerry	132,424	3.9	9	2.0	-1.9	6	2.7
Limerick	175,529	4.9	17	3.8	-1.1	6	2.7
Tipperary	140,281	3.6	8	1.8	-1.8	5	2.2
Waterford	101,518	2.6	11	2.5	-0.1	5	2.2
Connacht	464,050	*11.8*	51	*11.5*	*-0.3*	24	*10.7*
Galway	208,826	5.3	15	3.4	-1.9	6	2.7
Leitrim	25,815	0.7	2	0.5	-0.2	0	0
Mayo	117,428	3.0	16	3.6	0.6	7	3.1
Roscommon	53,803	1.4	7	1.6	0.2	4	1.8
Sligo	58,178	1.5	11	2.5	1.0	7	3.1
Ulster (part)	246,571	*6.3*	15	*3.4*	*-2.9*	6	*2.7*
Cavan	56,416	1.4	5	1.1	-0.2	0	0
Donegal	137,838	3.6	8	1.8	-1.6	5	2.2
Monaghan	52,772	1.3	2	0.5	-0.8	1	0.4

Source: Central Statistics Office, Census 2002 and Post Polio Support Group office

Table 2 below shows the distribution of survey respondents by Health Board:

Table 2 – Post Polio Support Group Survey Respondents by Health Board Area

Health Board	Post Polio Support Group Members 2003	% of Post Polio Support Group Members	Post Polio Support Group Survey Respondents 2002	% Survey Respondents
	444	100	224	100
Eastern Region Health Authority	167	37.6	85	38.2
East Coast Area Health Board	38	8.6	21	9.8
Northern Area Health Board	65	14.6	28	12.4
Southern Western Area Health Board	64	14.4	36	16.0
Midland Health Board	35	7.9	21	9.3
Mid-Western Health Board	41	9.2	23	10.3
North Eastern Health Board	24	5.4	9	4.0
North Western Health Board	21	4.7	12	5.3
South Eastern Health Board	47	10.6	24	10.7
Southern Health Board	71	16.0	33	14.7
Western Health Board	38	8.6	17	7.6

Source: Post Polio Support Group Office

As can be seen from Table 2 above, the Post Polio Support Group has a wide geographical membership base that reflects, in the main, the general demographics of the Republic of Ireland. This reflection has been carried through into the spread of those who responded to the survey.

In this manner it may be concluded that LEP is a countrywide phenomenon and not just confined to one area or sociological grouping.

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