Chapter 1 - Health Of Australians

Question 1

Chronic Condition

Answer 1

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 2

Developed Country

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY)

Answer 3

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 4

Dynamic

Answer 4

Continually changing.

Question 5

Health Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE)

Answer 5

A measure of burden of disease based on life expectancy at birth, but including an adjusted 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 6

Health Indicators

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Health Status

Answer 7

‘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.’ (AIHW, 2008)

Question 8

Hospital Separation

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Incidence

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Infirmity

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Ischaemic Heart Disease

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Life Expectancy

Answer 12

‘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.’ (AIHW, 2008)

Question 13

Mental Health

Answer 13

‘State of well-being 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.’ (WHO, 2009)

Question 14

Morbidity

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Mortality

Answer 15

Deaths in the population.

Question 16

Mortality Rate

Answer 16

(Sometimes referred to as ‘death rate’) the measure of the proportion of a population who die in a one-year period (usually per 100,000).

Question 17

Physical Health

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Prevalence

Answer 18

‘The number or proportion of cases of a particular disease or condition present in a population at a given time.’ (AIHW, 2008)

Question 19

Social Health

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Trend

Answer 20

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 21

Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR)

Answer 21

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

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

Burden of Disease

Answer 24

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.
Burden of Disease is measured in DALYs.