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JAMA. 2001;285:1012.

MMWR. 2000;50:61-62

CDC recently published "Measuring Healthy Days: Population Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life," the first comprehensive report to describe the validity and use of a set of survey measures developed by CDC and partners to track population health status and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in states and communities.¹ The report is intended for public health professionals involved or interested in HRQOL surveillance or measurement. The report identifies the policy and conceptual origins of a brief set of healthy days HRQOL measures developed for use as public health outcome measures and summarizes the results of studies to test the measures' accuracy and consistency.

During January 1993–December 2000, approximately 1 million U.S. adults were asked Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System questions on self-rated health, recent physical and mental health, and activity limitations. State and local health officials can use the measures and data to help achieve the two major goals of the national health objectives for 2010: improve the quality and years of healthy life and eliminate health disparities. States and communities are encouraged to use the measures to identify subgroups of persons with poor perceived health and to use that information to identify population health trends and disparities, define disease burden, allocate resources based on unmet needs, and evaluate disease prevention efforts. The report is available on the World-Wide Web, http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/hrqol.

REFERENCES

1. CDC. Measuring healthy days: population assessment of health-related quality of life. Atlanta, Georgia: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, November 2000.