Sections and Chapters

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: 

1. The strength of the burden of disease concept
2. How to quantify the burden of disease from mortality and disability
3. The content of three case studies using the burden of disease concept..

What is this chapter about? 

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. 

Case studies presented in the chapter: 

1. DALYs produce a different picture of the health impact of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake than mortality rates.
2. Interpersonal violence in Colombia was the leading cause of DALYs in 1990 and 2017..
3. Global DALYs due to the seven hazards currently covered in the GBD projects are declining.

What are the key messages of this chapter?  

• A key foundation for prioritizing policy planning and interventions in Health EDRM is comprehensive and comparable evidence on mortality and disability.
• A burden of disease approach quantifies and compares health loss due to mortality and disability for different diseases and injuries.
• DALY is a summary measure of population health that integrates mortality and disability.
• DALY allows comparisons between different health hazards and offers the ability to assess the impact of DRR strategies.