ABSTRACT
In establishing a national system for health planning and regulation, Public Law 93-641 requires that Health Systems Agencies measure the health status of the populations for which they are responsible, implying that they plan programs and assess their effectiveness with reference to that measure. Most health planners, who are associated with governmental or quasi-governmental agencies and concerned with a relatively broad geographic area need some way of estimating health status for defined population groups or geographic areas. For the health planner, the problems and questions associated with the use of health status measures may seem far greater than the solutions they promise. Mortality data could provide planners with "first cut" estimates of health status. Differences among the health status indices result from differences in the scope, detail, sensitivity, and weighting procedure. Many planners have wisely chosen to rely on mortality as the indicator of health status in obtaining a first estimate of health status levels.
