Measuring Health Status

From Pdhpe Magdalene

Revision as of 05:06, 18 November 2007

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

Role of Epidemiology

Epidemiology = “The study of patterns of health and the distribution and frequency of disease, illness and injury in a society.

click on the image below to see statistics in graphical form on world health and other measures. File:Gapminder.jpg http://www.gapminder.org/world

Measures Of Epidemiology

morbidity -

mortality -

infant mortality - the number of deaths in the first year of life per 1000 births.

life expectancy - the number of years of life remaining at any given age. This is normally reported from birth. Australia's life expectancy at birth is 83 years for females and 78.1 years for males (from 2006 AIHW report).

What can Epidemiology Tell Us?

* Monitor major causes of sickness and death (morbidity and mortality)
* Identify areas that need attention
* Determine priority areas for government funding 
* Monitor use of health facilities
* Evaluate the effectiveness of programs

Who uses Epidemiology?

* Policy developers in the government
* Manufacturers of health products
* Providers of health services
* Individuals

Do they measure everything about health status?

Epidemiology fails to:

* Explain why health inequities exist
* Recognise the sociocultural influences on health behaviours
* Provide a holistic approach to health
* Focus on all components or dimensions of health