Final answer:
The criteria for developing global health indicators include relevance to major health concerns, comprehensiveness, standardization and reliability, feasibility and cost-effectiveness, and policy relevance. These inform the use of various health metrics like the Human Development Index and the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index.
Step-by-step explanation:
Components of Criteria for Global Health Indicators
The development and selection of global health indicators are guided by certain criteria that aim to measure the overall health and well-being of populations. These criteria serve as a benchmark to evaluate the success of health-related programs and initiatives, such as those set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The five components of the criteria typically include:
- Relevance to Major Health Concerns: Indicators should reflect important health issues affecting the global or specific populations.
- Comprehensiveness: Indicators should capture a wide range of health aspects, including physical, mental, and social well-being.
- Standardization and Reliability: Indicators should be standardized so that they are comparable across different countries and over time.
- Feasibility and Cost-effectiveness: The data for the indicators should be relatively easy to collect and analyze, without requiring exorbitant resources.
- Policy Relevance: Indicators should be actionable, providing insights that can inform policy development and intervention strategies.
These criteria are applied while considering various health metrics and composite indices like the Human Development Index (HDI) and its derivatives such as the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI). The HDI encompasses three dimensions—health (life expectancy), knowledge (education level), and standard of living (income levels)—to provide a more holistic view than simply economic statistics. Similarly, the IHDI adjusts for inequalities within these dimensions, providing a more nuanced picture of development.
Sources like the UNICEF's report on 'Water, Sanitation and Hygiene', OECD's 'Health at a Glance', and the WHO's 'World Health Statistics' are vital for establishing and understanding the effectiveness of these health indicators.