The ECHI shortlist is a set of 88 indicators dealing with the following issues

• Demographic and socio-economic factors
• Health status
• Determinants of health
• Health interventions: health services
• Health interventions: health promotion

Indicators on demographic and socio-economic factors

Age and gender are basic variables of health and disease. Frequently, data reflecting the health status of population groups are shown separately for both men and women, and for different age groups. This helps to ensure a correct interpretation of the overall data and time trends. Every public health system should take the age distribution and dynamics of its population into account. Furthermore for most health problems, a higher prevalence or incidence is observed in the lower socio-economic groups.

The indicators in this section present information on demography (e.g., population size, birth and fertility rates) as well as socio-economic factors such as education, unemployment and poverty. Click here to view all ECHI shortlist indicators of “Demographic and socio-economic factors”.

Indicators on health status

These indicators analyse the status of health. It includes information such as:

• summary measures: (healthy) life expectancy;
• perceived and functional health: perceived general health, functional and activity limitations, general mental health;
• mortality: total, infant, perinatal, disease-specific, lifestyle-related deaths; and
• diseases, disorders, injuries: infectious diseases, cancer, mental/behavioural disorders, cardiovascular disease, other non-communicable diseases, pregnancy-related conditions, injuries (including suicide).

Click here to view all ECHI shortlist indicators of “Health status”.

Indicators on determinants of health

Many factors, which are often interacting, determine a person's health or disease state. These indicators provide information on a wide range of determinants of health, arranged into three major groups including:

• environment: social support, airborne particulate matter and working conditions;
• health behaviours: smoking, alcohol use, drug use, food consumption, physical activity and breastfeeding; and
• biological and personal factors: overweight and blood pressure.conditions.

Click here to view all ECHI shortlist indicators of “Determinants of health”.

Indicators on health interventions: health services

In society we undertake many activities to promote our health and prevent disease. The concrete activities are labelled interventions. These indicators present information and data on a wide range of such activities, including:

• health protection;
• disease prevention;
• health care quality;
• health care access;
• health care resources;
• health care utilisation; and
• expenditures.

Click here to view all ECHI shortlist indicators of “Health interventions: health services”.

Indicators on health interventions: health promotion

Behind interventions are health policies. Health policies create the framework and the necessary conditions for the implementation of health promotion activities and interventions, by using particular tools such as laws, policy measures, policy documents and agreements.

Click here to view all ECHI shortlist indicators of “Health interventions: health promotion”