Chapter 2.3 Disease burden: generating evidence, guiding policy
Disasters and other health emergencies cause substantial disability and mortality and it is important to have reliable evidence on these impacts. Understanding the basic concept of disease burden can help decision-makers understand the impact on population health using the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) as a summary measure of both mortality and disability. This chapter describe the concept of disease burden. It provides a guide as to how DALYs are defined and calculated, describes their use in practice, gives a snapshot of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), and concludes with three case studies illustrating how the burden of disease concept has been used in practice.
Chapter 2.3 describes the basic concept of disease burden and its potential in identifying and understanding the health issues surrounding a disaster, in particular:
- The strength of the burden of disease concept
- How to quantify the burden of disease from mortality and disability
- The content of three case studies using the burden of disease concept.
Authors: Nomura S, Ishizuka A.
