aos 1 - chapter 2

Question 1

Define health status

Answer 1

An individuals or a population overall health, taking into account various aspects such as life expectancy, amount of disability and levels of disease risk factors.

Question 2

Define health indicators

Answer 2

Standard statistics that are used to measure and compare health status, e.g. life expectancy, mortality rates, morbidity rates.

Question 3

Examples of health indicators

Answer 3

• self assessed health status
• life expectancy
• mortality
• morbidity
• burden of disease

Question 4

Define life expectancy

Answer 4

An indication of how long a person can expect to live; it is the number of years of life remaining to a person at a particular age if death rates do not change.

Question 5

Define mortality

Answer 5

Refers to deaths in a population. The mortality is an indication of how many deaths occurred in a population in a given period of time for specific causes.

Question 6

Define YLL

Answer 6

Years of life lost - a measure of how many years of expected life are lost due to premature death.

Question 7

Define morbidity

Answer 7

Refers to ill-health, including disease, injury and disability, in an individual and the levels of ill-health in a population or group.

Question 8

Define incidence

Answer 8

A measure used to present morbidity data. Refers to the number (or rate) of new cases of a disease/condition in a population during a given period.

Question 9

Prevalence

Answer 9

A measure used to present morbidity data. The number or proportion of cases of a particular disease or condition present in a population at a given time.

Question 10

Define YLDs

Answer 10

Years lost to Disability - a measure of how many ‘healthy’ years of life are lost due to illness, injury or disability.

Question 11

Define wellbeing

Answer 11

The absence of physical illness, disease and mental distress.

Question 12

Define health

Answer 12

A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Question 13

Define physical health

Answer 13

Relates to the efficient functioning of the body and its systems, and includes the physical capacity to perform tasks and physical fitness.

Question 14

Define social health

Answer 14

Being able to interact with others and participate in the community in both an independent and cooperative way.

Question 15

What are the 3 dimensions of health?

Answer 15

Physical, social, mental

Question 16

Define DALYs

Answer 16

Disability adjusted life years - a measure of burden of disease. One DALY equals one year of healthy life lost due to premature death and time lived with illness, disease or injury.

Question 17

Define burden of disease

Answer 17

A measure of the impact of diseases and injuries; speci cally it measures the gap between current health status and an ideal situation where everyone lives to an old age free of disease and disability. Burden of disease is measured in a unit called the DALY.

Question 18

Define mental health

Answer 18

State of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her own capabilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.