Summary measures of health status are statistics that use mortality data, or combine mortality and
morbidity data to represent overall population health in a single number. Examples of summary measures
include general health status and healthy days measures from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS) surveys, life expectancy, and years of potential life lost (YPLL). Measures that combine
mortality and morbidity include health-adjusted life years (HALYs) or health-adjusted life expectancy
(HALE), quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), years of healthy life (YHLs), and disability-adjusted life
years (DALYs).
Why It's Important
Bergner and Rothman have suggested that health status assessment measures serve four
different functions, including examination of the health of general populations, clinical interventions
and their effects, changes in the health care delivery system, and health promotion activities and their
effects.
How It's Tracked
A description of Life Expectancy calculation may be found on the
Life Expectancy resource page in NM-IBIS.
