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APPENDIX A
Review of the Social Security Administration's
Disability Decision Process Research
STUDY MANDATE
The study will review and provide advice on the scope of
work, design, content of the survey, and the approach and scientific methods of completed
and planned research as the Social Security Administration (SSA) develops the new
disability decision process. The study will focus on the population 1869 years of age.
Although the committee is given latitude in setting its own agenda and designing its plan
of work, the topics it explores will include:
- Review of the research plan and timeline for developing a new decision process for
disability;
- Review of the preliminary design of the Disability Evaluation Study (DES) research
efforts, the scope of work for the DES, and the design and content of the survey, as
proposed by the survey contractor, as well as SSA's plans to integrate the decision method
and DES research effort, identifying statistical design, methodological and content
concerns, and other outstanding issues;
- Examine the results of completed research including research into existing functional
assessment instruments and subsequently identified research for SSA's redesign efforts,
and provide advice for adopting or developing functional assessment instruments or
protocols for the redesigned disability process and the DES in particular; and
- Assess the results and findings of the research undertaken by SSA, comment on future
research proposals, and offer advice on the analysis of the consequences of alternative
disability determination processes. Some of the topic areas that might be considered
include functional assessment of work-related limitations of physical and mental
impairments; disability decision processes (including screening mechanisms); testing and
validating decision processes for determining disability; and age, education, and work
experience.
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