Chapter 1

Question 0

What is Health Status?

Answer 0

Health status refers to ‘an individual’s or a population’s overall health, taking into account various aspects such as life expectancy, amount of disability and levels of disease risk factors’

Question 1

What is the WHO definition of Health?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What is Physical health?

Answer 2

Physical health is defined as ‘the efficient functioning of the body and its systems, and includes the physical capacity to perform tasks and physical fitness’

Question 3

What is Social health?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What is Mental Health?

Answer 4

‘state of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, 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.’

Question 5

What are a few factors that contribute to physical health?

Answer 5

Ideal body weight 
Well functioning body systems and organs 
Strong immune system 
Appropriate levels oftness 
Optimal physical health 
Freedom from illness disease and injury 
Adequate energy levels 
Ability to complete physical tasks adequately

Question 6

What are a few examples of things that contribute to optimal social health?

Answer 6

Supportive network of friends
Supportive and well-functioning family
Productive relationships with other people

Question 7

What are a few factors which contribute to optimal mental health?

Answer 7

Positive thought patterns (being optimistic)
Low levels of stress and anxiety
Positive self-esteem (how a person feels about themselves)
High levels of condence

Question 8

What are health indicators?

Answer 8

Health indicators are standard statistics that are used to measure and compare health status

Question 9

What is life expectancy?

Answer 9

‘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 10

What is health adjusted life expectancy (HALE)?

Answer 10

Health Adjusted Life Expectancy is a measure of burden of disease based on life expectancy at birth, but including an adjustment for time spent in poor health. It is the number of years in full health that a person can expect to live, based on current rates of ill health and mortality.

Question 11

What is Mortality?

Answer 11

Mortality refers to death in a population

Question 12

What is a Mortality Rate?

Answer 12

The measure of the proportion of a population who die in a one-year period (usually per 100 000)

Question 13

What is the Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR)?

Answer 13

The number of deaths of children under five years of age per 1000 live births.’ (WHO, 2008)

Question 14

What does Morbidity refer to?

Answer 14

Morbidity refers to ill health in an individual and the levels of ill health in a population or group’ (AIHW, 2008).

Question 15

What does incidence refer to?

Answer 15

(when referring to morbidity) the number or rate of new cases of a disease during a specified period of time (usually a twelve month period).

Question 16

What does prevalence relate to?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What are YLLs?

Answer 17

(Years of Life Lost) is a measure of how many years of expected life are lost due to premature death

Question 18

What does YLD mean?

Answer 18

(Years lost due to disability) is a measure of how many healthy years of life are lost due to illness, injury or disability

Question 19

What are DALYs?

Answer 19

(Disability Adjusted Life Years) is 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 20

What formula is used to calculate DALYs?

Answer 20

YLL + YLD = DALYs

Question 25

What is a chronic condition?

Answer 25

Chronic Conditions include any disease or condition that lasts a long time (usually longer than six months). It usually can’t be cured and therefore requires ongoing treatment and management. Examples include arthritis and asthma.

Question 26

What are hospital separations?

Answer 26

Episodes of hospital care that start with admission and end at transfer, discharge or death

Question 27

What is a developed country?

Answer 27

A country that has advanced adequately with regards to economy, technology and health status

Question 28

What are communicable diseases?

Answer 28

Diseases which can be passed on from the environment to the individual. This can be from one person to another, from insects or from the physical environment.