Health-Adjusted Life Year
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Introduction & definition[edit | edit source]
Health-Adjusted Life Years are a measurement of the health of a population, typically used in estimates of the burden of disease.
HALYs are used to measure the combined effects of mortality and morbidity in populations; they permit comparisons between ilnesses or interventions as well as between populations[1]
They are commonly used to compare the cost-effectiveness of different health interventions.
Calculation of HALY[edit | edit source]
The two most common ways of measuring HALYs are:
- Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)
- Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs)
Function/Uses of HALYs[edit | edit source]
HALYs are based on the latest available epidemiological data, and the accuracy & usefulness of the HALY measurement depends on the completeness & accuracy of the data used.
Data can be taken from a variety of sources, including: census & national surveillance data; hospital records; surveys (eg. road safety surveys, or health surveys); police records; mortuary records; death certificate information.
Ideally the data should all be recent, locally derived and disaggregated by age and sex.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Gold, MR, Stevenson D, Fryback DG. HALYs and QALYs and DALYs, Oh My: similarities and differences in summary measures of population Health. Annu Rev Public Health, 2002; 23:115-34
