Measuring Health Status

From Biki

Health Status: a term used to describe the state of an individual/community. Measured against an identifiable standard

Contents 1 Role of Epidemiology 2 Measures Of Epidemiology 3 What can Epidemiology Tell Us? 4 Who uses Epidemiology? 5 Do they measure everything about health status?

Role of Epidemiology

What is Epidemiology?

• The study of patterns of sickness and death of the population
• It provides information on the distribution (patterns) of disease, illness and injury and the likely causes

Measures Of Epidemiology

• Life Expectancy: the average number of years a person of a given age and gender is expected to live
• Mortality Rates: death rates – a measure of the number of deaths from a specific cause in a given period of time (usually a year)
• Infant Mortality Rates: measure of annual deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births
• Age-specific Mortality Rate: number of deaths to specific age groups in a year per 1000
• Morbidity Rates: measures of the level of disease and sickness in a society.
  • Prevalence: the number of cases of the disease combined
  • Incidence: The number of new cases over a set period of time.

What can Epidemiology Tell Us?

• Monitoring the major causes of sickness and death to identify any emerging issues or inequalities
• Identifying areas of need so prevention and treatment interventions can be targeted
• Determining priority areas for the allocation of government funding
• Monitoring the use of health care services and facilities
• Evaluating the effectiveness of any prevention and treatment programs

Who uses Epidemiology?

• Policy Developers at all levels of Government
• The manufacturers of health products
• The providers of health services
• Individual consumers

Do they measure everything about health status?

• No, Epidemiology is simply a study of the patterns of health not total health. It has been challenged as focusing mostly on the physical health issues.
  • Doesn’t explain socio-cultural factors
  • Doesn’t take into account influencing factors like social factors
  • Doesn’t show variations between population sub groups
  • Doesn’t evaluate quality of life

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