THE APPROPRIATE EMPIRICAL MEASUREMENT OF HEALTH STATUS

EZE, Pius C. (2018) THE APPROPRIATE EMPIRICAL MEASUREMENT OF HEALTH STATUS. GOUni Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 4 (2). pp. 157-162. ISSN 2550-7265

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Abstract

The present paper presents a methodological essay demonstrating how a person’s health status can be ascertained empirically from the types of survey data available to economists. The main econometric problem is that health status is a latent variable, neither directly observable nor directly measurable. Analysts attempt to deal with this problem by using health proxies such as mortality rates or morbidity measures including days-in-bed, work-loss-days, etc. The method introduced in this essay extends the concept of morbidity measures by conceptualizing health status in terms of illness. Illness itself can be measured by a real number that represents illness severity. Empirically, actual diagnostic conditions, symptoms, as well as the limiting and debilitating effects of illness are incorporated in a multiple-indicators-multiple-causes (MIMIC) structural equation model of the latent variable, severity-of-illness. A hindering problem in Nigeria is the non-availability of appropriate data. For that reason, this paper uses data from the United States National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditures Survey to illustrate the method. Another version of this empirical study is published in Eze and Uwakwe (2015).

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory L Education > L Education (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Management and Social Sciences
Depositing User:	GOUNI ICT
Date Deposited:	10 May 2018 13:26
Last Modified:	10 May 2018 13:26
URI:	http://eprints.gouni.edu.ng/id/eprint/41

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