Chapter 1 - Health of Australians

Question 0

Chronic condition:

Answer 0

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.

Question 1

Burden of disease:

Answer 1

A measure of the impact of diseases and injuries, specifically it measures the gap between current health status and an ideal situation where everyone lives to an old age free of disease and disability.

Question 2

Communicable:

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Developed country:

Answer 3

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

Question 4

DALY:

Answer 4

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 5

Dynamic:

Answer 5

Continually changing.

Question 6

Health adjusted life expectancy (HALE):

Answer 6

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 (without reduced functioning) that a person can expect to live, based on current rates of ill health and mortality.

Question 7

Health indicators:

Answer 7

Standard statistics that are used to measure and compare health status.

Question 8

Health status:

Answer 8

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 9

Hospital separation:

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Incidence:

Answer 10

The number or rate of new cases of a disease during a specified period of time (usually a year).

Question 11

Infirmity:

Answer 11

State of being weak, lacking in strength (especially from old age).

Question 12

Ischaemic heart disease:

Answer 12

A disease characterised by a blockage of blood vessels (and therefore blood and oxygen) to the heart, also known as coronary heart disease.

Question 13

Life expectancy:

Answer 13

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 14

Morbidity:

Answer 14

Refers to ill health in an individual and the levels of ill health in a population or group.

Question 15

Mortality:

Answer 15

Deaths in the population.

Question 16

Mortality rate:

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Prevalence:

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Trend:

Answer 18

A general change or movement in a particular direction. For example, trends indicate a significant increase in obesity rates over the past 20 years.

Question 19

U5MR:

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Infant mortality rate:

Answer 20

Measures the rate of deaths of infants between birth and their first birthday, usually expressed per 1000 live births.

Question 21

Maternal mortality ratio:

Answer 21

Is the rate of deaths of women who are either pregnant or in the first 42 days after giving birth or having termination, expressed per 100,000 live births.

Question 22

Years lost due to disability (YLD):

Answer 22

A measure of how many healthy years of life are lost due to illness, injury or disability.

Question 23

Years of life lost (YLL):

Answer 23

A measure of how many years of expected life are lost due to premature death.

Question 24

Physical health:

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Social health:

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Mental health:

Answer 26

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.