The index is computed with geometric means, based on the methods used for the Human Development Index. The calculation of the 3.8.1 indicator requires first standardizing the 14 tracer indicators so that they can be combined into the index, and then computing the index from those values.

The 14 tracer indicators are first all placed on the same scale, with 0 being the lowest value and 100 being the optimal value. For most indicators, this scale is the natural scale of measurement, e.g., the percentage of infants who have been immunized ranges from 0 to 100 percent. However, for a few indicators, conversion and/or rescaling is required to obtain appropriate values from 0 to 100, as follows:

Conversion

The prevalence of tobacco use is converted into prevalence of tobacco non-use, so that an increase means an improvement.

Rescaling

Rescaling based on a non-zero minimum to obtain finer resolution (this “stretches” the distribution across countries): prevalence of non-use of tobacco is rescaled using a minimum value of 30%, which indicate a realistic range of prevalence levels for the indicator.

$r e s c a l e d t o b a c c o n o n u s e = (X - 30) / (100 - 30) * 100$

Rescaling for a continuous measure: mean fasting plasma glucose, which is a continuous measure (units of mmol/L), is converted to a scale of 0 to 100 using the minimum theoretical biological risk (5.1 mmol/L) and observed maximum across countries (7.4 mmol/L).

$r e s c a l e d v a l u e = (7.4 - o r i g i n a l v a l u e) / (7.4 - 5.1) * 100$

Maximum thresholds for rate indicators: hospital bed density and health workforce density are both capped at maximum thresholds, and values above this threshold are held constant at 100. These thresholds are based on minimum values observed across OECD countries (2015 edition of OECD Health Statistics Database).

$r e s c a l e d h o s p i t a l b e d s p e r 10, 000 = m i n i m u m (100, o r i g i n a l v a l u e / 18 * 100)$

$r e s c a l e d p h y s i c i a n s p e r 1, 000 = m i n i m u m (100, o r i g i n a l v a l u e / 0.9 * 100)$

$r e s c a l e d p s y c h i a t r i s t s p e r 100, 000 = m i n i m u m (100, o r i g i n a l v a l u e / 1 * 100)$

$r e s c a l e d s u r g e o n s p e r 100, 000 = m i n i m u m (100, o r i g i n a l v a l u e / 14 * 100)$

Once all tracer indicator values are on a scale of 0 to 100, geometric means are computed within each of the four health service areas, and then a geometric mean is taken of those four values. If the value of a tracer indicator happens to be zero or beyond 100, it is set to 1 (out of 100) or 100 (out of 100) respectively before computing the geometric mean. The following diagram illustrates the calculations.

Note that in countries with low malaria burden, the tracer indicator for use of insecticide-treated nets is dropped from the calculation.

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Rætta metadátur: 3.8.1