OBJECTIVE: We propose a new method to measure health inequalities caused by conditions amenable to policy intervention and use this to identify health differences between sexes and age groups. METHODS: The lowest observed mortality rates are used as a proxy of unavoidable mortality risks to develop a new measure of health outcome - realization of potential life years (RePLY). The RePLY distribution is used to measure avoidable health inequalities between sex and age groups respectively. FINDINGS: Using RePLY we find that even those countries with very high life expectancy at birth can have substantial health inequalities across different age groups. Also, gender inequality is more pronounced among those aged < 30. Among countries with a life expectancy < 60 years, there is a much larger prevalence of gender inequality against females; countries with life expectancy > 60 years have comparable numbers of cases of inequality among females and males. Finally, high avoidable health inequality is associated with low average income, high income inequality and high population fractionalization. CONCLUSION: It is important to distinguish between unavoidable and avoidable mortality when measuring health outcomes and their distribution in society. The proposed new measure (RePLY) enables policy-makers to focus on age-sex groups with low realization of potential life years and thus high avoidable mortality risks.
OBJECTIVE: We propose a new method to measure health inequalities caused by conditions amenable to policy intervention and use this to identify health differences between sexes and age groups. METHODS: The lowest observed mortality rates are used as a proxy of unavoidable mortality risks to develop a new measure of health outcome - realization of potential life years (RePLY). The RePLY distribution is used to measure avoidable health inequalities between sex and age groups respectively. FINDINGS: Using RePLY we find that even those countries with very high life expectancy at birth can have substantial health inequalities across different age groups. Also, gender inequality is more pronounced among those aged < 30. Among countries with a life expectancy < 60 years, there is a much larger prevalence of gender inequality against females; countries with life expectancy > 60 years have comparable numbers of cases of inequality among females and males. Finally, high avoidable health inequality is associated with low average income, high income inequality and high population fractionalization. CONCLUSION: It is important to distinguish between unavoidable and avoidable mortality when measuring health outcomes and their distribution in society. The proposed new measure (RePLY) enables policy-makers to focus on age-sex groups with low realization of potential life years and thus high avoidable mortality risks.
Authors: Andreu Nolasco; Joaquin Moncho; Jose Antonio Quesada; Inmaculada Melchor; Pamela Pereyra-Zamora; Nayara Tamayo-Fonseca; Miguel Angel Martínez-Beneito; Oscar Zurriaga; Mónica Ballesta; Antonio Daponte; Ana Gandarillas; M Felicitas Domínguez-Berjón; Marc Marí-Dell'Olmo; Mercè Gotsens; Natividad Izco; M Concepción Moreno; Marc Sáez; Carmen Martos; Pablo Sánchez-Villegas; Carme Borrell Journal: Int J Equity Health Date: 2015-04-01
Authors: Andreu Nolasco; José Antonio Quesada; Joaquín Moncho; Inmaculada Melchor; Pamela Pereyra-Zamora; Nayara Tamayo-Fonseca; Miguel Angel Martínez-Beneito; Oscar Zurriaga Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2014-04-01 Impact factor: 3.295