Morbidity Rate: A Review of the Literature
Introduction
Morbidity rate is a measure of the number of people who experience an illness or injury during a given period of time. It is an important indicator of the health of a population, as it can be used to identify trends in the prevalence of certain diseases and to monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions. This review will discuss the various methods used to calculate morbidity rate, the types of data used, and the implications of this measure for public health.
Methods
Morbidity rate can be calculated in various ways depending on the type of data available. The most common methods include prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates. The prevalence rate is the number of people who have a particular disease or health problem at a given point in time. The incidence rate is the number of new cases of a particular disease or health problem over a given period of time. Finally, the mortality rate is the number of deaths due to a particular disease or health problem over a given period of time.
Data
Morbidity rate is typically calculated using data from health surveys and other sources, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Other sources of data include population-based surveys, hospital discharge records, and vital statistics data.
Implications
Morbidity rate is an important measure of population health, as it can be used to identify trends in the prevalence of certain diseases and to monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions. It can also be used to compare the health of different populations, and to inform public health policy decisions.
Conclusion
Morbidity rate is a valuable measure of population health, as it can be used to identify trends in the prevalence of certain diseases and to monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions. It is calculated using various methods and data sources, and has implications for public health policy decisions.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Morbidity and mortality rates. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/mortality-and-morbidity-rates.htm
National Center for Health Statistics. (2020). Mortality and morbidity data. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mortality/mortality_morbidity.htm
World Health Organization. (2020). Morbidity and mortality. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/health-topics/morbidity-and-mortality#tab=tab_1
Winer, B. J., & Brown, D. R. (2018). Statistical principles in experimental design (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.