Indicators of health
A indicator of health is a measure designed to summarize information about a given priority topic in population health or health system performance.
As a matter of fact, health is a holistic concept, health change cannot be measured in specified units; it can only be reflected by health indicators. Majorly health indicators can be categorized as vital indicators and Behavioral indicators.
I. Vital Indicators
A. Mortality indicators
- Crude Death Rate
- Life Expectancy
- Infant Mortality Rate
- Child Mortality Rate
- The under-5 proportionate mortality rate
- Maternal Mortality Rate
- Proportional Mortality Rate
- Disease-Specific Mortality Rate
B. Morbidity Indicators
- Incidence & Prevalence
- Notification Rate
- Attendance Rates at hospitals, etc
- Admission, re-admission and discharge rates
- Duration of hospital stay
- Spells of sickness
C. Disability Indicators
D. Service Indicators
E.Composite Indicators
II. Behavioral Indicators
This mainly measures the utilization of services provided, rates of compliance and an attitude of populations. Utilization rates indicate whether the health facilities provided are adequate, relevant, accessible and acceptable. Hospital occupancy rates, the proportion of population visiting primary health centers, the proportion of the population receiving antenatal care, etc., are all important indicators of utilization.
References
Mahajan and Gupta; Textbook for Preventive and Social Medicine: 4th Edition.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information https://www.cihi.ca/en/health-indicators