International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

What Really Matters: Living Longer or Living Healthier; Comment on “Shanghai Rising: Health Improvements as Measured by Avoidable Mortality Since 2000”

Document Type : Commentary

Authors
Paul S. F. Yip
Mengni Chen
Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
10.15171/ijhpm.2015.87
Abstract
The decline in Avoidable Mortality (AM) and increase in life expectancy in Shanghai is impressive. Gusmano and colleagues suggested that Shanghai’s improved health system has contributed significantly to this decline in AM. However, when compared to other global cities, Shanghai’s life expectancy at birth is improving as London and New York City, but has yet to surpass that of Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Paris. Over the past decade, the reduction in AM of Shanghai is just in line with the international experience in reducing avoidable premature deaths. We suggest that a more elaborate research design is needed to examine the impact of the improvement in Shanghai’s health system on its population health status.
Keywords
Health System
Avoidable Mortality (AM)
Life Expectancy
Morbidity
Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE)
Subjects
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  • Received Date 17 March 2015
  • Revised Date 16 April 2015
  • Accepted Date 17 April 2015
  • First Published Date 01 July 2015
  • Published Date 01 July 2015