Predictors of international health status

Abstract

This study presents a new measure of health status, called the Health Status Scale (HSS). The HSS is composed of five indicators: three measuring adult mortality and two measuring mental and social health. The scale is created to conform to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of health as including physical, mental, and social components. The scale is used as the dependent variable in a regression equation, using six common predictors of health status. The predictors relate to health personnel, nutrition, and health facilities. The results of the regression analysis indicate that health facilities are the most significant predictors of health status, using the HSS. Their significance may be due to the relationship between adult mortality and the absence of facilities to treat chronic disease in adults.