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Measuring the burden of disease: healthy life-years
A A Hyder1, G Rotllant, R H Morrow
1Department of International Health, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Objectives:
This paper presents the background and rationale for a composite indicator, healthy life-year (HeaLY), that incorporates mortality and morbidity into a single number. HeaLY is compared with the disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) indicator, to demonstrate the relative simplicity and ease of use of the former.
Methods:
Data collected by the Ghana Health Assessment team from census records, death certificates, medical records, and special studies were used to create a spreadsheet. HeaLYs lost as a result of premature mortality and disability from 56 conditions were estimated.
Results:
Two thirds of HeaLYs lost in Ghana were from maternal and communicable diseases and were largely preventable. The age weighting in DALYs leads to a higher value placed on deaths at younger ages than in HeaLYs. This spreadsheet can be used as a template for assessing changes in health status attributable to interventions.
Conclusions:
HeaLY can aid in setting health priorities and identifying disadvantaged groups. The disaggregated approach of the HeaLY spreadsheet tool is simpler for decision makers and useful for country application.