Why Functioning Should Be Used as a Population Health Indicator? A Discussion of a Chilean Population Study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Population health problems are among the world's main concerns. However, mortality and morbidity alone do not fully encompass the health experience of populations. International efforts are underway to verify health experiences using functioning as the third health indicator. The aim of the study was to compare the functioning profile of the Chilean population with mortality and morbidity rates due to neurological, circulatory, respiratory, and musculoskeletal diseases at the regional level. METHODS: An ecological study was conducted with the secondary dataset II Estudio Nacional de la Discapacidad (ENDISC) and mortality and hospitalization rates from the Departamento de Estadísticas e Información en Salud. The II-ENDISC was a national household survey, based on the Model Disability Survey, carried out in 2015. RESULTS: > 0.05). This suggests a lack of a linear relationship between these indicators at the regional level. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the Chilean population revealed that performance values, as an expression of functioning, do not correlate with morbidity or mortality rates. This discrepancy underscores the limitations of relying solely on traditional health indicators to capture the complexity of population health. Our findings support the conceptual value of functioning as a complementary and distinct health indicator, rather than a proxy for morbidity or mortality.
Source: Healthcare
Authors: Marina Carvalho Arruda Barreto, Ricardo Cartes-Velásquez, Valeria Campos, Luciana Castaneda, Shamyr Sulyvan Castro
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,258
OpenAlex ID: W4412038951