chapter 2 (measuring health status)

Question 1

Incidence

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Prevalence

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Morbidity

Answer 3

ill health in an individual and levels of ill health within a population (often expressed through incidence and prevalence)

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. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth

Question 5

Health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE)

Answer 5

the average length of time an individual at a specific age can expect to live in full health; that is, time lived without the health consequences of disease or injury

Question 6

Mortality

Answer 6

the number of deaths in a population in a given period

Question 7

Maternal mortality

Answer 7

death of a mother during pregnancy, childbirth or within six weeks of delivery

Question 8

Maternal mortality ratio (rate)

Answer 8

the number of mothers who die as a result of pregnancy, childbirth or associated treatment per 100 000 women who give birth

Question 9

Infant mortality rate

Answer 9

the rate of deaths of infants before their first birthday, usually expressed per 1000 live births

Question 10

Infant mortality

Answer 10

deaths of infants before their first birthday

Question 11

Under-five mortality rate (U5MR)

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Under-five mortality

Answer 12

deaths of children under five years of age

Question 13

Self-assessed health status

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Burden of disease

Answer 14

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 a unit called the DALY

Question 15

Disability-adjusted life year (DALY)

Answer 15

a measure of burden of disease. One DALY is equal to one year of healthy life lost due to illness and/ or death. DALYs are calculated as the sum of the years of life lost due to premature death and the years lived with disability for people living with the health condition or its consequences

Question 16

Years of life lost (YLL)+

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Years lost due to disability (YLD)+

Answer 17

a measure of how many healthy years of life are lost due to disease, injury or disability