Measuring Global Health

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Units of Measurement

There are a number of measurements which can be used to measure global health.

The DALY is frequently used as a measure of "disease burden" which is defined as 

DALY

DALY = Disability Adjusted Life Year

This measurement is a combination of 2 measurements (shown below):

DALY = YLL + YLD

ie. Disability Adjusted Life Year [DALY] is equal to the sum of the Years of Life Lost [YLL} due to premature mortality in the population and the Years Lost due to Disability [YLD} for people living with the health condition.

The WHO website summarises the DALY thus:

"One DALY can be thought of as one lost year of 'healthy' life. The sum of these DALYs across the population, or the burden of disease, can be thought of as a measurement of the gap between the current health status and an ideal health situation where the entire population lives to an advanced age, free of disease and disability.

YLL

Years of Life Lost

This consists of the number of deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age at which death occurs.

The formula for this is:  YLL = N x L

N = number of deaths and L = standard life expectancy at age of death (in years)

YLD

Years Living witha Disability

References

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