3.1.4 - health status indicators

Question 1

Health status

Answer 1

An individual’s or population’s overall health taking into account various aspects such as life expectancy, amount of disability, + levels of disease risk factors.

Question 2

Health indicators

Answer 2

Standard statistics that are used to measure + compare health status (eg. life expectancy, mortality rates, etc).

Question 3

Self-assessed health status

Answer 3

An individual’s own opinion about how they feel about their health, their state of mind, + their life in general.
- Subjective

Question 4

Life expectancy

Answer 4

The number of years of life, on average, remaining to an individual at a particular age if death rates do not change.
- Doesn’t provide information on health issues facing a country.

Question 5

Health-adjusted life expectancy

Answer 5

The average length of time an individual at a specific age can expect to live in full health; that it, the time lived without the health consequences of disease or injury.
- Indicator of quality + quantity of life.

Question 6

Mortality + mortality rate

Answer 6

• The number of deaths in a population in a given period.
• (aka death rate) the measure of the proportion of a population who die in a one year period (usually per 100,000).

Question 7

Infant mortality rates

Answer 7

The rates of deaths of infants before their first birthday, usually expressed per 100,000 live births.

Question 8

Under-five mortality rate (UFMR)

Answer 8

The number of deaths of children under 5 years of age per 1000 live births.

Question 9

Maternal mortality rate

Answer 9

The number of mothers who die as a result of pregnancy, childbirth, or associated treatment per 100,000 women who give birth (or 100,000 live births).

Question 10

Morbidity

Answer 10

Ill-health in an individual + the levels of ill-health in a population (often expressed through incidence + prevalence).

Question 11

Incidence

Answer 11

Refers to the number (or rate of new cases of a disease/condition in a population during a given period.

Question 12

Prevalence

Answer 12

The total number/proportion of cases of a particular disease or condition present in a population at a given time.

Question 13

Morbidity requiring care

Answer 13

GP visits
Hospitals

Question 14

GPS visits

Answer 14

Involves a range of interventions (eg, prescribing medicined, administering vaccinations, + discussing test results).

Question 15

Hospitals

Answer 15

Encompasses care for chronic conditions (+ treatment) + emergency care.
- Hospital separations - episodes of hospital care that start with admission + end at transfer, discharge, or death.

Question 16

Burden of disease (BOD)

Answer 16

A measure of the impact of disease + injuries, specifically measuring the gap between current health status + an ideal situation where everyone lives to an old age free of disease + disability.
- Takes impact of morbidity + mortality into account.

Question 17

Disability adjusted life-years (DALY)

Answer 17

Measure of BOD. One DALY = one year of healthy life lost due to illness + disability.
YLL + YLD = DALY

Question 18

Years of life lost (YLL)

Answer 18

A measure of how many years of life are lost due to premature death (LE - death = YLL).

Question 19

Years lost due to disability (YLD)

Answer 19

Measure of how many healthy years of life are lost due to disease, injury, or disability .