HEALTH INDICATORS
Dr. Zunaira Imtiaz
MBBS,BSC
Demonstrator in Community Medicine Department
Session Outline
Definition of Health
Health Indicators
Characteristics of Health Indicators
Factors influencing Health Indicators
Types of Health Indicators
Summary
Millennium development goals
What is Health
Health
Health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental & social
wellbeing, and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity but
ability to lead a “socially and economically productive life”
Characteristics of Health Indicators
Valid
Reliable
Sensitive
Specific
Feasible
Relevant
Factors influencing health Indicators
Health is multidimensional
Each dimension is influenced by numerous factors :
Economic
Occupational
Cultural
Educational
Social
Indicators of Health
Types of Health Indicators
Mortality indicators
Crude death rate (CDR)
Life expectancy: It is the average number of years that will be live
Life expectancy: It is the average number of years that will be lived by those born
alive in the population if current age-specific mortality rates
Infant mortality rate: It is the most universally accepted indicator of health of whole
population. and of socioeconomic conditions.
Child mortality rate:
Under - 5 proportionate mortality rate:
Maternal (puerperal) mortality rate:
Disease - specific mortality:
Proportional mortality rate: It is the simplest measure of burden of disease
in the community.
Years of Potential Life Lost: Expected life (66 years male and 67 years
female) Minus age at which death occurs due to some accident
Morbidity indicators
Frequency: Incidence & prevalence rates
Disability rates: Average number of days of disability
Severity by Case fatality rate
Notification rates
Attendance rates at outpatient departments
Admission and discharge rates
Duration of stay in hospital
Spell of sickness (absence from work and school)
Disability rates
a. Event-type Indicators
i. Number of days of restricted activity
ii. Bed disability days
iii. Work-loss days
b. Person-type Indicators
iv. Limitation of mobility
v. Limitation of activity
c. Sullivan's Index(Expectation of life free of disability)
d. HALE (Health Adjusted Life Expectancy)
It represents number of years a newborn is expected to live in full health.
e. DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Year)
DALYs is measure of overall disease burden. It represents number of
years lost due to ill healthy, disability or early death.
f. Disability Free Life Expectancy
It is the number of years an individual is expected to live free of
disability
Nutritional status indicators
1) Anthropometric measurements
2) Heights
3) Prevalence of LBW (low birth weight babies i.e. less than 2.5 kg)
Health care delivery indicators
1. Doctor - population ratio
2. Doctor - nurse ratio
3. Population - bed ratio
4. Population - TBA (Trained Birth Attendant) ratio
Utilization rates
Proportion of infants who are fully immunized against 9 EPI
diseases
Percentage of the population using the various methods of family
planning
Bed occupancy rate:
It is a proportion of beds which are filled during a specific period.
Ideally it should be 85%, but in Pakistan it is 93%. It is calculated by
formula:
Average bed occupancy
Literacy Average bed availability X 100
Indicators of social and mental health
1. Suicide
2. Homicide
3. RTAs
4. Smoking
5. Juvenile delinquency
Environmental indicators
1. Air pollution
2. Radiation
3. Noise
4. Solid wastes
Health policy indicators
1. Allocation of adequate resources
2. Proportion of GDP spent on health service, at least 5% expenditure
of each country's GDP according to WHO.
3. Proportion of total health resources devoted to PHC (Primary
Health Care)
Socioeconomic Indicators
1. Rate of population increase
2. Per capita GNP
3. Unemployment
4. Dependency ratio
5. Literacy rates
6. Family size
7. Per capita calorie availability
Indicators of quality of life
1.Infant mortality
2.Life expectancy at age one
3.Literacy
Other indicators
1. Social indicators
2. Basic needs indicators
3. Health for All indicators
Summary
Health is not measured directly but using indicators.
Indicator should be valid, sensitive, specific, reliable,
relevant and feasible
Used in measuring, describing, comparing, identifying
health needs and planning and evaluation of health
services.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Thank
You
