Chapter 2 - 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. Burden of disease is measured in a unit called the DALY.

Question 5

Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)

Answer 5

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 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

An indication of how long a person can expect to live. It is the number of years of life remaining for a person at a particular age if death rates do not change.

Question 9

Health Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE)

Answer 9

A measure based on life expectancy at birth, but including an adjustment for time spent in poor health. It is the average number of years an individual at a specific age can expect to live in full health, 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

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

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 death of a child between birth and their first birthday.

Question 14

Infant mortality rate

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Under 5 mortality

Answer 15

The death of a child under 5 years of age.

Question 16

Under 5 mortality rate

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Self-assessed health status

Answer 17

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 18

Health status

Answer 18

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 19

Health indicators

Answer 19

Standard statistics that are used to measure and compare health status (e.g. life expectancy, mortality rates, morbidity rates.)

Question 20

Mortality rate

Answer 20

The number of deaths, usually expressed per 1000 or 100 000 people in a 12-month period, from a specific cause or from all causes combined.

Question 21

What is the equation for calculating Burden of Disease?

Answer 21

YLL + YLD = DALY

YLL (Years of Life Lost): Years of expected life lost due to premature death.
YLD (Years Lost due to Disability): Healthy years of life lost due to illness, injury or disability.