Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology-IBE, Chair of Public Health and Health Services Research, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Pettenkofer School of Public Health, Munich, Germany.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Dec 20;21(1):2309. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-12335-x.
Health indicators are used in different settings to monitor health outcomes. Child and adolescent health is arguably one of the most important areas for the application of indices and indicators in prevention and health promotion. Although single health indicators may be better suited to display the complexity of the health status and its determinants, a selected set of indicators will still offer a complex picture. Therefore, it is argued that a group of indicators combined into an index may offer a pragmatic tool that is easier to use in order to inform stakeholders.
A scoping review was conducted to identify and describe health indices that monitor and evaluate health of children and adolescents and to appraise the quality and value of the identified indices that may guide the further applications of these indices in particular settings. The three bibliographic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO were searched and a double screening of titles and abstracts as well as double screening of full texts was performed. Indices contained in these studies were analysed in terms of focus and composition and evaluated in terms of quality criteria.
The scoping review identified 36 eligible studies with 18 health indices in six thematic categories. Of the identified indices, seven indices focus on anthropometrical variables, three indices focus on special aspects of newborns and five indices focus on oral health. One index assesses "healthy lifestyle" and one "functional ability" whereas one index a combination of different aspects. Most indices are calculated by using primary health data.
Alone or in combination with single sets of indicators, indices in six major thematic domains may be used as pragmatic tools for monitoring children's and adolescents´ health and the evaluation of interventions in health promotion and prevention settings.
健康指标被用于不同的环境中，以监测健康结果。儿童和青少年健康可以说是在预防和健康促进领域应用指数和指标最重要的领域之一。尽管单一的健康指标可能更适合展示健康状况及其决定因素的复杂性，但一组精选的指标仍将提供一个复杂的图景。因此，有人认为，一组组合成指数的指标可能提供一种更实用的工具，以便更方便地为利益相关者提供信息。
进行了范围综述，以确定和描述监测和评估儿童和青少年健康的健康指数，并评估这些已确定的指数的质量和价值，这可能有助于在特定环境中进一步应用这些指数。检索了 MEDLINE、EMBASE 和 PsycINFO 这三个文献数据库，并对标题和摘要进行了双重筛选，对全文进行了双重筛选。从重点和组成两个方面对这些研究中的指数进行了分析，并根据质量标准对其进行了评估。
该范围综述确定了 36 项符合条件的研究，其中包含 18 个健康指数，分为六个主题类别。在已确定的指数中，七个指数侧重于人体测量变量，三个指数侧重于新生儿的特殊方面，五个指数侧重于口腔健康。一个指数评估“健康生活方式”，一个指数评估“功能能力”，而一个指数则是不同方面的组合。大多数指数是使用初级卫生数据计算的。
单独或与单一指标集结合使用，这六个主要主题领域的指数可以作为监测儿童和青少年健康以及评估健康促进和预防环境中干预措施的实用工具。
