This paper was prepared for BHS380: Global Health and Health Policy, Session 2019NOV11FT- 1, Module 1, SLP 1 Assignment, taught by Dr. Michael Mucedola.
Key Health Indicators
Health indicators are generally characteristics of a population that allows researchers to have supporting evidence to help them describe the health of that particular population. (Wikipedia, 2019) To gather information about the health of a population, surveys have been conducted. A great example of a health indicator would be Life Expectancy. Systems can be used to collect data on ages at the time of death which is later used to support statements about the national life expectancy.
Infant Mortality Rate
Infant mortality rate is recorded as the death of an infant before their first birthday. This is rate is by number of infant deaths per every 1,000 live births. (CDC, 2019) Some of the causes of infant deaths before their birthday are birth defects, low birth weight, preterm birth, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS. The Center for Disease Control has been trying to improve these birth outcomes. The CDC has been working to understand Sudden Infant Deaths which is an unexpected death of an infant under 1 years old. States that are involved show data of trends to help the CDC develop strategies that they hope will reduce the chance of SIDS. (CDC, 2017)
Life Expectancy at Birth
Life expectancy at birth is the average of how long a newborn is expected to live at birth. (OECD Data, n.d.) This is actually one of the most used health status indicators by researchers. Having a high life expectancy at birth can show that the living standards of that area has improved lifestyle, education, and access to quality healthcare. If mortality is high in age groups that are young, the life expectancy at birth can be low, but if a person can live past their childhood mortality then they can expect to live longer. Different populations will have different life expectancies at birth because some countries are not as developed as others. A great example is comparing South Africa’s 59.5 years of age expectancy to the United States 81.2 years. (Population Pyramid, n.d.)
Maternity Mortality Ratio
The Maternity Mortality Ratio represents the risks that are associated with each pregnancy. (WHO, 2014) Some of the complications that arise during childbirth are the leading causes of death and disability among women in developing countries. Measuring this ratio can be quite difficult unless the death and cause of death is documented. Other estimates are formed from census, and surveys over maternal mortality. Maternal mortality ratio and maternal mortality rate should not be confused with each other. Maternal mortality rate is the number of maternal women who have died per women while maternal mortality ratio is the number of maternal deaths per live birth. (Morse, 2019)
Under 5 Mortality Rate
The Under 5 Mortality Rate is the probability of an individual from newborn to age 5 dying per 1,000 births. (WHO, 2019) Last year alone, it was reported that 5.3 million children under the age of 5 years old died. Currently, the African region has the highest risk of children dying under the age of 5 years old. It has 5 of 6 countries having the death rate at 100 deaths per 1,000 live births. The Sustainable Development Goals have come up with a target to end preventable deaths of children from birth to 5 years old. All countries are to try to reduce under 5 mortality to as low as 25 deaths per 1,000 live births. Currently, 21 countries are on track to reach this target by 2030.
Health Adjusted Life Expectancy
Health Adjusted Life Expectancy is a measure of a populations health that takes into report mortality and morbidity. (Health Knowledge, 2010) It tweaks overall life expectancy by the amount of time that is lived in less than perfect health. The formula is A + (f)B = life expectancy. A = years lived healthy, B = years lived with disability, and f = disability level. One of the concerns has been who gets to decide what level a disability is. The global health adjusted expectancy for both male and female together was 63.1 years old in 2015.
Disability Adjusted Life Years
Disability Adjusted Life Years or DALY measure the amount of life that is lost in a population as an outcome of either premature death or disability. (Health Knowledge, 2010) This helps researchers estimate the weight of a disease on a population. A single DALY can be thought of as a single year loss of healthy life. Measuring this across a population can help show the gap between current health status and the wanted health situation. DALY = Years of life lost + Years lost due to disability.
Life expectancy at birth is a health indicator that could be used to describe the overall health status of a developing country. Life expectancy can show the living standards of the developing country. The higher the life expectancy grows; it shows that the country is improving and vice versa if it is getting lower. Life expectancy will start to rise when the country is showing improvement in public health, nutrition, education, and medicine.
References
Wikipedia. (2019, October 14). Health indicator. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_indicator.
CDC. (2019, March 27). Infant Mortality. Retrieved fromhttps://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortality.htm.
CDC. (2017, September 11). Infant Mortality: What Is CDC Doing? Retrieved fromhttps://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortality- cdcdoing.htm.
Health Knowledge. (2010, July 15). Health information: Life tables, HALEs, DALYs, and PYLLs. Retrieved fromhttps://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/e-learning/health- information/population-health-specialists/lifetables-hales-dalys-pylls.
Morse, A. R. (2019, August 23). Definitions of Maternal Mortality. Retrieved from https://www.pop.org/definitions-of-maternal-mortality/.
OECD Data. (n.d.). Health status – Life expectancy at birth – OECD Data. Retrieved from https://data.oecd.org/healthstat/life-expectancy-at-birth.htm.
Population Pyramid . (n.d.). Life Expectancy At Birth, Female (Years) 2015. Retrieved from https://www.populationpyramid.net/hnp/life-expectancy-at-birth-female-years/2015/.
WHO. (2014, March 11). Maternal mortality ratio (per 100 000 live births). Retrieved fromhttps://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/indmaternalmortality/en/.
WHO. (2019, October 24). Under-five mortality. Retrieved fromhttps://www.who.int/gho/child_health/mortality/mortality_under_five_text/en/.
