Cookies?
Library Header Image
LSE Research Online LSE Library Services

Historical trends of mortality and its implications for health policies in England and Wales: the cause-of-death approach

Murphy, Michael J. and Di Cesare, Mariachiara (2012) Historical trends of mortality and its implications for health policies in England and Wales: the cause-of-death approach. In: McGuire, Alistair and Costa-Font, Joan, (eds.) The LSE Companion to Health Policy. Elgar original reference. Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp. 283-296. ISBN 9781781004234

Full text not available from this repository.

Identification Number: 10.4337/9781781004234.00028

Abstract

Historical trends of mortality and its implications for health policies in England and Wales: the cause-of-death approach Mariachiara Di Cesare and Michael Murphy 1. INTRODUCTION Developed countries have experienced a substantial increase in life expectancy in the last century due to lower levels of mortality including a shift from dying at younger ages to older ages (Janssen and Kunst, 2004). This shift has been both a cause and a consequence of a changing pattern in causes of death from communicable diseases to chronic and degenerative diseases (Omran, 1971, 1998; Charlton and Murphy, 1997). The increasing importance of overall and cause-specific mortality patterns, especially among older people, has gained interest especially for the impact – in terms of costs, policies and actions – on the health and social care system (WHO, 2008). Acute care costs for the last year(s) of life (which account for a major part of lifetime health expenditures; see Chapter 13) differ according to the cause of death, reflecting earlier patterns of morbidity (Polder et al., 2006; Pierce and Denison, 2010; Scitovsky 1984, 1994). For example, causes such as unexpected, fatal heart attacks have low costs compared to cancers. Analysis of cause-of-death trends can indicate the interaction of health, economic and social factors with technology and medical knowledge to monitor the present and suggest appropriate policies for the future. Health policies based on use of cause-specific mortality data have to rely on data mainly from death certification for continuous monitoring of mortality over time. Nowadays, most developed...

Item Type: Book Section
Official URL: http://www.elgaronline.com/abstract/9781781004234....
Additional Information: © 2012 Edward Elgar
Divisions: Social Policy
LSE Health
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
Date Deposited: 26 Feb 2013 14:34
Last Modified: 02 Jan 2024 07:00
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/48820

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item