Measuring the Global Burden of Disease and Risk Factors, 1990–2001

Excerpt

This chapter begins with a brief history of the work on burden of disease, including a discussion of the nature and origins of the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) as a measure of disease burden. Next it discusses applications of burden of disease analysis to the formulation of health policy. The chapter then summarizes the methods and findings of the 2001 GBD study, reported in more detail in chapters 3 and 4 of this volume. A concluding section takes stock of the work on disease burden since the early 1990s and suggests some key areas for further work.