Chapter 4: Health
The 'Health' chapter discusses some important considerations in defining health for measurement purposes, such as the fact that health is influenced over a time by a wide variety of factors and that illness and disability can affect people in a range of different ways. Key issues of social concern in the area of health are discussed, as are population groups of particular interest. A generalised health framework is delineated that includes elements relating to health determinants, interventions and resources. The classification of disability in terms of activity restriction, as applied within the ABS, is described, as is a framework for measuring health system performance. Measurement issues in the area of health are discussed, including discussion of the concept of burden of disease. Key data sources are listed and described in summary.