The increasing importance of sickness and disability data across health-related disciplines is the focus of this concise but comprehensive resource. It reviews the basics of morbidity at the population level by defining core concepts, analyzing why morbidity has overtaken mortality as central to demographic study, and surveying ways these data are generated, accessed, and measured. Subsequent chapters demonstrate how this knowledge can be used to better understandand potentially solvecritical public health issues, benefitting not only populations served, but also areas such as health services planning, resource allocation, and health policy-setting. 

To make this material useful to the most readers, this reference:

Explains why and how morbidity data are categorized by health professionals and other data users.Examines various methods of identifying and measuring morbidity data.Identifies demographic and non-demographic factors associated with morbidity.Describes and evaluates sources of U.S. morbidity data.Reviews the current state of morbidity in the U.S., and what it means for healthcare and society in general.Suggests future uses of morbidity data in reducing health disparities and improving population health.

InSicknessandIn Healthis uniquely relevant to demographers and demography students, public health professionals, and epidemiologists. Its presentation of concepts and applications makes the book a valuable classroom text and a useful guide for those addressing challenges facing U.S. healthcare. 

Richard K. Thomas is Partner and Vice President of Health and Performance Resources in Memphis, TN. He is also Instructor and Research Associate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. Thomas is the author of Health Services Marketing: A Practitioner's Guide, published by Springer.

Introduction to Morbidity: Defining the Concepts.- Importance of Measuring Morbidity.- Issues in Measuring Morbidity.- Morbidity Measures.- History of Morbidity Measurement.- Generating Morbidity Data.- Sources of Morbidity Data.- Morbidity Estimates and Projections.- Assessment of Data Options.- Prospects for the Future.