ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the critical conceptual and methodological problems in the construction of one type of social indicator, namely, health indicators. It discusses some of the problems involved in constructing an indicator of health status that will serve the putative purposes of social indicators. Proponents of social accounts and social indicators envision their application at several levels of policy making, and include among their functions: description of the social state of society; evaluation of the performance of social organizations and institutions; and anticipation of future trends. The output-oriented conception of indicators is consistent with the tendency among many to equate “health indicators” with “health status indicators.” The issue of whether health indicators should measure positive as well as negative health is symptomatic of a fundamental conceptual problem that stems from the lack of a real definition of health.
