Also, it depends o what you mean by 'prevention'. Semantically, every
intervention is 'preventative' because it prevents something worse.
Where do you draw the line on what you consider 'prevention"?
I have a list of various activities in the health services sectors that
a) are amenable to primary health care
b)are measures of what the health system can hope to accomplish for
equity in health through health services interventions.
Barbara Starfield,MD
-----Original Message-----
From: The Health Equity Network (HEN)
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alex
Scott-Samuel
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 8:51 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Indicators on Disease Prevention
Malcolm Alexander wrote:
> Can anyone suggest UK indicators which provide information on the
> effectiveness of preventative health or social care?
I guess it depends what you're looking for Malcolm.
Obviously there are intervention-specific indicators
relating to particular preventive health care interventions,
such as measles rates in the context of measles
immunisation. If you're looking more globally at the
totality of preventive health care, indicators like class /
sex / 'race'-specific life expectancy (and premature
mortality) are appropriate. In a genuinely equitable society
everyone would aspire to at least the upper level of life
expectancy currently achieved in that society; to the extent
that this currently fails to happen, our attempts at
preventive health and social care fail us.
Best wishes, Alex
******************************************************************
Alex Scott-Samuel
EQUAL (Equity in Health Research and Development Unit)
Division of Public Health
University of Liverpool
Whelan Building
Quadrangle
Liverpool
L69 3GB
Tel (+44)151-794-5569
Fax (+44)151-794-5588
e-mail [log in to unmask]
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