Measuring Health Status

Question 1

Incidence

Answer 1

The number of new cases of a condition during a given period of time

Question 2

Prevalence

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Morbidity

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Burden of disease

Answer 4

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.
Measured using the DALY

Question 5

Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY)

Answer 5

a measure of burden of disease
one daly = one year of healthy life lost due to premature death and time lived with illness, disease or injury
Daly = YLL + YLD

Question 6

Years of life lost (YLL)

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Years lost due to disability (YLD)

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Life expectancy

Answer 8

the number of years of life remaining to a person at a particular age if death rates do not change

Question 9

Health Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE)

Answer 9

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 10

Mortality

Answer 10

Refers to death, often at a population level

Question 11

Maternal mortality

Answer 11

the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental

Question 12

Maternal mortality ratio

Answer 12

the number of mothers who die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births

Question 13

Infant mortality

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Under 5 mortality

Answer 14

the death of a child under 5 years of age

Question 15

Under 5 mortality rate

Answer 15

the rate of deaths occurring in children under 5 years of age per 1000 live births

Question 16

Self-assessed health status

Answer 16

a measure based on a person’s own opinion about how they feel about their health and wellbeing, their state of mind and their life in general. It is commonly sourced from population surveys

Question 17

Health Status

Answer 17

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