The Measurement of Health: Concepts and Indicators.

The Measurement of Health: Concepts and Indicators

Larson, J. The Measurement of Health: Concepts and Indicators. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.

How can the various indicators of health, available through vital statistics, government publications, private surveys, and other sources be measured? This and other questions are discussed in this study of concepts in the health measurement of individuals and populations.

The first chapter defines health by using five models, the two major ones being the medical and the holistic. The medical model is the absence of disease and disability, and the holistic generally defines health as physical, mental, and social well-being. Chapters two and three discuss the statistical measurement of mortality and morbidity (illness or disability) by government and other agencies. International health measurement is the focus of the fourth chapter, which includes...