Disscusion - Admission/Application Essay Example

Summary Measures Summary Measures Characteristics Public health officials often use summary measures in order to track population health changes and identify changes that may occur in the population after implementing certain initiatives despite the fact that health changes take place rather slowly. Similarly, they can also come in handy when comparing health inequalities that may exist within populations, identify any areas that may require priorities in terms of health care delivery, carrying our research and development and examining the benefits likely to come about as a result of the healthcare interventions implemented (In Kirch, 2008).

Summary measures should be comprehensible and practicable to calculate, and should preferably be linear aggregates on the other measures of health events. This will help in ensuring that one can easily compare certain characteristics pertaining to health across different populations with ease. Furthermore, the measure should be attainable, especially over a rather short period in order to ensure that it simplifies tracking of the populations health and easily incorporate any necessary changes that may be required.

This will also ensure that any health care services offered are distributed efficiently and equally. In addition, the summary measures used should reflect the modifications that take place over time in the health of the population. This implies that in case the health of the population gets worse or deteriorates, then the summary measure should also get worse. Similarly, if the mobility or the mortality rate in a given population goes down, then the summary measure should also improve (Thacker, 2006).

The results for different summary measures should be easily comparable, such that one can easily compare the mobility and the mortality of a given population in terms of the overall health. ReferencesIn Kirch, W. (2008). Encyclopedia of Public Health: Set. New York: Springer.Thacker, S. B., Stroup, D. F., Carande-Kulis, V., Marks, J. S., Roy, K., & Gerberding, J. L. (2006). Measuring the publics health. Public Health Reports, 121, 14-22.