Dictionary
The Dictionary provides concise definitions of health economics terms, arranged alphabetically for quick reference. Use it to understand unfamiliar terminology or confirm the meaning of a specific term.
A
- Attack RateIncidence Proportion, Outbreak Incidence
- A measure of disease incidence in a specific outbreak, the proportion of an at-risk population that develops the disease over the outbreak period.
B
- Benefit IncidenceBenefit Distribution Analysis, Spending Incidence
- An analysis examining how the benefits of public healthcare spending are distributed across population subgroups, such as income quintiles.
C
- Cancer Prevention EconomicsCancer Prevention Cost-Effectiveness, Oncology Prevention Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to reducing cancer incidence, spanning vaccination against cancer-causing infections, lifestyle programmes, and chemoprevention.
- Cancer Registry EconomicsCancer Registry Data Economics, Registry-Based Cancer Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation using data from cancer registries, standardised systems recording cancer incidence, treatment, and outcomes across a population.
- Cardiovascular PreventionCVD Prevention, Cardiac Prevention
- Interventions reducing cardiovascular disease incidence by modifying risk factors, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking, spanning public health and clinical measures.
- CAUTI RateCatheter-Associated UTI Rate, CAUTI Incidence
- A measure of the frequency of catheter-associated urinary tract infections within a facility, tracking infection prevention performance for catheter care.
- Cervical Cancer ScreeningPap Smear Screening, Cervical Screening
- A public health strategy using cytology or HPV testing to detect precancerous changes or early cervical cancer, credited with substantially reducing incidence.
- CLABSI RateCentral Line Infection Rate, CLABSI Incidence
- A measure of the frequency of central line-associated bloodstream infections within a facility, tracking infection prevention performance for catheter care.
- Cumulative IncidenceIncidence Risk, Cumulative Risk Measure
- Cumulative incidence is the probability that a person initially at risk experiences a specified new event within a defined time interval.
F
- Financing IncidenceFinancing Burden Distribution, Incidence of Financing
- An analysis of how a health system's financing burden, whether taxation or out-of-pocket payments, is distributed across population subgroups.
I
- IncidenceNew-Case Rate, New-Case Frequency
- The number of new cases of a disease occurring within a defined population over a specified period, unlike prevalence, which counts existing cases.
- Incidence RateIncidence Density, Person-Time Rate
- A measure of disease frequency calculated as new cases divided by total person-time at risk observed, accounting for varying follow-up lengths.
- Incidence Rate RatioIRR, Incidence Density Ratio
- A measure comparing the incidence rate of an outcome between two groups, accounting for differences in total person-time at risk.
M
- Mixture Cure ModelTwo-Component Survival Model, Incidence-Latency Model
- A cure model treating the population as a mixture of a cured fraction facing only background mortality and an uncured fraction remaining at risk.
- MRSA RateMRSA Infection Rate, MRSA Incidence
- A measure of the frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections within a facility, an infection prevention and resistance indicator.
P
- Point PrevalenceSnapshot Prevalence, Prevalence at a Single Time
- The proportion of a population found to have a particular condition at a single specific point in time, unlike period prevalence or incidence.
- Population Attributable RiskPAR, Population Excess Risk
- The reduction in disease incidence within a population that would result from eliminating a harmful exposure entirely, expressed as an absolute rate.
R
- Rate DifferenceExcess Rate, Additive Rate Contrast
- The absolute difference between the incidence rates in two groups, giving a direct measure of the excess rate of disease from an exposure.
- Rate RatioRelative Rate, Comparative Rate
- A measure comparing the incidence rates of an outcome between two groups, accounting for differences in person-time at risk.
- Risk RatioCumulative Incidence Ratio, Incidence Proportion Ratio
- A measure calculated as the ratio of risk in one group compared to another, synonymous with relative risk for event comparisons.
S
- Suicide PreventionSuicide Risk Reduction, Self-Harm Prevention
- Interventions and policies reducing suicide incidence, covering crisis hotlines, means restriction policies, and targeted clinical care for at-risk individuals.
T
- Technology IncidenceTechnology Introduction Rate, New-Tech Entry Rate
- The rate at which a new health technology is adopted into clinical practice over time following its introduction, an input to budget impact models.
- Time Series DataTemporal Data, Time-Ordered Data
- Data consisting of repeated measurements of the same variable collected sequentially over time, such as monthly disease incidence rates.