Page 50 - IJPS-11-6

International Journal of
Population Studies Gender gaps in reporting limitations

among lower-educated respondents in Europe compared not always hold true (AU & Lorgelly, 2014; Hirve et al.,
to the U.S. might reflect cultural distinctions in how 2013). Future research could address these limitations by
individuals perceive and report health limitations (Bago integrating objective health measures and qualitative data
d’Uva et al., 2008; King et al., 2004). to complement vignette-based analyses.
In addition, the temporal dynamics in Europe, where 4.2. Policy implications
reporting thresholds evolved between 2004 and 2006,
highlight the dynamic variability of self-reported data. The findings have significant implications for health
Policy changes and economic conditions likely contributed and disability policy. First, accounting for reporting
to this shift, emphasizing the role of external contexts in heterogeneity is essential when designing cross-national
shaping reporting behavior (Angelini et al., 2011). These health surveys and interpreting self-reported data.
findings stress the importance of accounting for response Policymakers should consider these variations to prevent
scale heterogeneity when interpreting trends in health the misclassification of health disparities and ensure
and disability data. They also have broader implications equitable resource allocation (van Soest et al., 2020).
for research relying on self-reported measures of work Second, targeted interventions are needed to address
disability, highlighting the need for caution when using systemic inequities in health reporting, particularly among
such measures to assess disability patterns and trends. racial/ethnic minorities and lower-educated populations
in the U.S. Initiatives to improve health literacy and access
4.1. Strengths and limitations to care within these groups may help mitigate biases in
A key strength of this study lies in its use of vignettes self-reported data (Assari et al., 2020). Third, the dynamic
combined with the HOPIT model, which effectively nature of reporting thresholds over time underscores the
disentangles disability severity levels from reporting importance of assessing how policy changes influence
heterogeneity. This approach offers valuable insights into public perceptions of disability. Policymakers should
the subjective nature of self-reported work limitations and design disability assessment frameworks that integrate
provides a nuanced understanding of how demographic both objective health outcomes and subjective reporting
factors influence health assessments. In particular, it allows patterns, ensuring that policy evaluations accurately
us to quantify the extent to which gendered-reporting capture their intended impacts (Yin & Heiland, 2022).
behaviors contribute to observed disparities. Strengthening collaborations between researchers and
policymakers could enhance the development of inclusive
Moreover, the integration of data from Europe and health assessments that account for diverse reporting
from the U.S. enables comparative analyses across diverse behaviors. Finally, our findings suggest that addressing
contexts, enriching the study’s findings. These insights gender disparities is not only a matter of fairness but also
hold practical significance, especially as the global essential for maximizing workforce potential and overall
workforce continues to age. Women’s higher prevalence of well-being amid demographic and economic shifts.
chronic health conditions, coupled with their tendency to A more comprehensive approach to gender-sensitive
under-report severity of limitations, presents considerable health policies could foster greater economic resilience
challenges to achieving gender equity in labor force and social equity in the long run.
participation – an essential goal of international sustainable
development (United Nations, 2015). 5. Conclusion
By employing this innovative methodology, our study This study examines gender differences in reporting work
not only refines existing approaches in disability research disability using the anchoring vignette approach. We found
but also underscores the broader implications of gender- that women tend to report identical work limitations
specific health reporting, offering a more comprehensive as less severe compared to men, with this gender gap
foundation for evidence-based policy interventions. persisting across most countries and time periods. When
However, several limitations should be noted. First, accounting for reporting heterogeneity, the gender gap in
the reliance on self-reported data introduces potential reporting work disability becomes smaller or statistically
biases inherent to subjective measures, even after adjusting insignificant. These results highlight the importance of
for reporting heterogeneity. Second, cultural factors caution in interpreting gender disparities in self-reported
influencing health reporting behaviors were not directly disability measures. While differences in reporting styles
measured, limiting the ability to fully explain cross-national between men and women partly explain these disparities,
differences. Third, while the HOPIT model adjusts for further research is needed to explore the residual gender
reporting biases, it relies on the assumption that vignettes differences and their implications for the economic well-
are interpreted consistently across respondents, which may being of older adults.

Volume 11 Issue 6 (2025) 44 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1969