This handbook presents global research on health expectancies, a measure of population health that examines the interaction between quantity and quality of life. With data from Europe, North America, Asia, and beyond, it explains how to define and measure health and morbidity and how to integrate these measurements with mortality. Coverage first highlights long-term trends in longevity and health. It also considers variations across and within countries, inequalities, and social gaps as well as micro and macro-level determinants. Next, the handbook deals with the methodological aspects of calculating health expectancies. It compares results from different methods and introduces tools, such as decomposition tool for decomposing gaps, an attrition tool for attributing a medical cause to reported disability, and a tool for measuring policy impact on health expectancies. It introduces methods of forecasting health expectancies. The handbook then goes on to examine the synergies and/or trade-off between longevity and health as well as considers such topics as the compression versus the expansion of morbidity/disability and the health-survival paradox. The last section considers new concepts and dimensions of health and, more broadly, well being which can be used in summary measures of population health, including psychological factors. Researchers, clinicians, demographers, and health planners will find this handbook an essential resource to this increasingly important public health and social policy tool. It will help readers gain insight into changes in health over time as well as inequalities between countries, regions, and population subgroups.  

Preface: Carol Jagger, Eileen Crimmins, Yasuhiko Saito, Renata Tiene De Carvalho Yokota,  Herman Van Oyen and Jean-Marie Robine

Part I Monitoring trends and gaps: 1 Operationalization of Concepts of Health and Disability: Renata Tiene De Carvalho Yokota and Herman Van Oyen
2 Trends in health expectancies: Jean-Marie Robine, Carol Jagger, Eileen Crimmins, Yasuhiko Saito and Herman Van Oyen
3 An analysis of macro-level determinants of geographic disparities in health expectancies: Yuka Minagawa and Carol Jagger
4 Monitoring social differentials in health expectancies: Emmanuelle Cambois, Henrik Brønnum-Hansen, Mark Hayward and Wilma Nusselder
Part II Advances in data and metholodolgy: 5 Data Sources for Health Expectancy Research: Mary Beth Ofstedal
6 Attributing causes to disability: Wilma J Nusselder, Caspar C Looman, Herman Van Oyen and Renata TC Yokota
7 Decomposing gaps in healthy life expectancy: Alyson A. van Raalte and Marília R. Nepomuceno
8 Assessing theimpact of risk factors on health expectancy: Henrik Brønnum-Hansen
9 Microsimulation of health expectancies, life course health, and health policy outcomes: Sarah B. Laditka, James N. Laditka and Carol Jagger
10 Forecasting health expectancy - what the future might hold: Carol Jagger and Andrew Kingston
Part III Quantity and quality of life: synergy and/or trade-off: 11 Gender differences in healthy and unhealthy life expectancy: Vanessa Di Lego, Paola Di Giulio and Marc Luy
12 Self-rated health: when and how to use it in studies among older people?: Henrike Galenkamp, Arjan W. Braam, Martijn Huisman and Dorly J.H. Deeg
13 Health expectancy in policy: the use and uptake of the Healthy Life Years indicator and the Global Activity Limitation Indicator by the European Commission and Member States: Petronille Bogaert, Martin McKee and Jean-Marie Robine
14 Policy relevance of health expectancy in health promotion: Toshiyuki Ojima
15 Utility of Health Expectancy when Evaluating Health Care Systems: Matthew C. Stiefel
Part IV Assessing new dimensions: 16 Pain and Disablement: Zachary Zimmer and Sara Rubin
17 Cognitive and Mental Health Expectancies: Kaarin J Anstey, Kim M Kiely and Nicole Ee
18 Combining working life and health expectancies: Elke Loichinger and Daniela Weber
19 Subjective Well-being: Long and happy lives: Aïda Solé-Auró
20 Revisiting the Disablement Process: Lois M. Verbrugge
21 Oral health, longevity and quality of life: Chi-Tsun Chiu, Angelique Wei-Ming Chan and Yasuhiko Saito      
Conclusions and future directions: Jean-Marie Robine, Eileen Crimmins, Carol Jagger, Yasuhiko Saito, Renata Tiene De Carvalho Yokota and Herman Van Oyen.