Health Status Indicators

Question 1

health status

Answer 1

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

Question 2

life expectancy

Answer 2

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 3

mortality rate

Answer 3

The number of deaths caused by a particular disease, illness or other environmental factor in a 12 month period, usually expressed per 100, 000 people.

Question 4

infant mortality rate (IMR)

Answer 4

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

Question 5

under 5 mortality rate (U5MR)

Answer 5

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

Question 6

maternal mortality rate (MMR)

Answer 6

The number of mothers who die as a result of pregnancy, childbirth or associated treatment (within 6 weeks of delivery) per 100, 000 women who give birth or per 100, 000 live births.

Question 7

morbidity rate

Answer 7

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

Question 8

incidence

Answer 8

The number (or rate) of new cases of a disease/condition in a population during a given period.

Question 9

prevalence

Answer 9

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

Question 10

self-assessed health status

Answer 10

An individuals own opinion about how they feel about their health, their state of mind and their life in general. It is commonly sourced from population surveys.