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The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation

Harri Doel, Lucy Griffiths Orcid Logo, Rhodri Johnson Orcid Logo, Samantha Turner Orcid Logo, Ronan Lyons, Jane Lyons

International Journal of Population Data Science, Volume: 11, Issue: 1

Swansea University Authors: Harri Doel, Lucy Griffiths Orcid Logo, Rhodri Johnson Orcid Logo, Samantha Turner Orcid Logo, Ronan Lyons, Jane Lyons

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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/ijpds.v11i1.3005

Abstract

Background and ObjectiveHealthcare research faces challenges in developing metrics that resonate with the general public or policymakers. We created a Desirable Health Indicator (DHI) to address this gap, centred around New Year's wishes for survival and non-occurrence of undesired events in th...

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Published in: International Journal of Population Data Science
ISSN: 2399-4908
Published: Swansea University 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71498
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We created a Desirable Health Indicator (DHI) to address this gap, centred around New Year's wishes for survival and non-occurrence of undesired events in the following year, for the population of Wales, UK, following discussions with policymakers and members of the public.MethodsWe created retrospective, population-based individual-level cohorts from linked routinely collected anonymised, health and demographic data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank (2015-2022). The DHI was calculated per person per year and quantified the distribution of the population who survive calendar years and do not use selected health services (not admitted to hospital; no emergency department attendance; and not prescribed medication used in infection, analgesics, or mental health drugs). Group and individual interviews were held with members of the public and policy makers seeking their views of the indicator.ResultsThe findings were understood and well received by members of the general public and policymakers. Between 2015 and 2019, the percentage of individuals meeting the DHI ranged between 39.6%-41.9%, increasing to 48.6% and 46.2% for2020 and 2021respectively, and reducing to 43.1% in 2022. Focussing on the year 2022, 1,154,630 (43.1%) met the DHI from a population of 2,677,829. The percentage of people with desirable health decreased significantly with age and with increasing socioeconomic deprivation. A higher proportion of males (49.2%) met the DHI compared to females (37.1%). Being male (aOR = 1.62 [95%CI 1.61,1.63]), 10-19 years of age (aOR = 1.69 [95%CI 1.68,1.71]), and living in the least deprived areas of Wales (aOR = 1.31 [95%CI 1.30,1.32]) were the characteristics associated with the highest odds of meeting the desirable health indicator. The most prevalent reasons for not meeting the indicator were GP prescriptions for drugs used in infections (29.5%), analgesics (22.8%) and mental health conditions (20.2%).ConclusionThe DHI provides an insightful and novel tool for monitoring aspects of population health and healthcare utilisation. The DHI's coverage of important topics, derived from routine data sources, makes it a reproducible, temporally flexible, and easily understood indicator, suitable for informing policy development and addressing aspects of health inequalities. As data linkage capabilities expand internationally there are opportunities for implementation to aid comparison and better understanding of how systems perform.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>International Journal of Population Data Science</journal><volume>11</volume><journalNumber>1</journalNumber><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher>Swansea University</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic>2399-4908</issnElectronic><keywords>data linkage; administrative data; healthcare utilisation; population health</keywords><publishedDay>23</publishedDay><publishedMonth>2</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2026</publishedYear><publishedDate>2026-02-23</publishedDate><doi>10.23889/ijpds.v11i1.3005</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Medical School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>MEDS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library)</apcterm><funders>This work is supported by Administrative Data Research(ADR) Wales (Grant ref: ES/W012227/1), part of the ADRUK investment, uniting research expertise from SwanseaUniversity Medical School and WISERD (Wales Institute ofSocial and Economic Research and Data) at Cardiff Universitywith analysts from Welsh Government. ADR UK is funded bythe Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part ofUK Research and Innovation.</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2026-02-25T16:31:47.8557321</lastEdited><Created>2026-02-25T16:14:26.5745179</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences</level><level id="2">Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Harri</firstname><surname>Doel</surname><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Lucy</firstname><surname>Griffiths</surname><orcid>0000-0001-9230-624X</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Rhodri</firstname><surname>Johnson</surname><orcid>0000-0001-9636-0753</orcid><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Samantha</firstname><surname>Turner</surname><orcid>0000-0001-5293-3871</orcid><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Ronan</firstname><surname>Lyons</surname><order>5</order></author><author><firstname>Jane</firstname><surname>Lyons</surname><orcid/><order>6</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>71498__36316__0f5ca94b2fbf48a8ae8c4cf5f26d507b.pdf</filename><originalFilename>71498.VoR.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2026-02-25T16:23:13.5931278</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>2506776</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>&#xA9; The Authors. 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spelling 2026-02-25T16:31:47.8557321 v2 71498 2026-02-25 The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation 9706ef4ab7c61e499ffd208e00cb81e3 Harri Doel Harri Doel true false e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93 0000-0001-9230-624X Lucy Griffiths Lucy Griffiths true false 5f97fd65ef8cf66db750f645f115454c 0000-0001-9636-0753 Rhodri Johnson Rhodri Johnson true false 51236cb22cd896545c87e4c15fda17af 0000-0001-5293-3871 Samantha Turner Samantha Turner true false 83efcf2a9dfcf8b55586999d3d152ac6 Ronan Lyons Ronan Lyons true false 1b74fa5125a88451c52c45bcf20e0b47 Jane Lyons Jane Lyons true false 2026-02-25 MEDS Background and ObjectiveHealthcare research faces challenges in developing metrics that resonate with the general public or policymakers. We created a Desirable Health Indicator (DHI) to address this gap, centred around New Year's wishes for survival and non-occurrence of undesired events in the following year, for the population of Wales, UK, following discussions with policymakers and members of the public.MethodsWe created retrospective, population-based individual-level cohorts from linked routinely collected anonymised, health and demographic data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank (2015-2022). The DHI was calculated per person per year and quantified the distribution of the population who survive calendar years and do not use selected health services (not admitted to hospital; no emergency department attendance; and not prescribed medication used in infection, analgesics, or mental health drugs). Group and individual interviews were held with members of the public and policy makers seeking their views of the indicator.ResultsThe findings were understood and well received by members of the general public and policymakers. Between 2015 and 2019, the percentage of individuals meeting the DHI ranged between 39.6%-41.9%, increasing to 48.6% and 46.2% for2020 and 2021respectively, and reducing to 43.1% in 2022. Focussing on the year 2022, 1,154,630 (43.1%) met the DHI from a population of 2,677,829. The percentage of people with desirable health decreased significantly with age and with increasing socioeconomic deprivation. A higher proportion of males (49.2%) met the DHI compared to females (37.1%). Being male (aOR = 1.62 [95%CI 1.61,1.63]), 10-19 years of age (aOR = 1.69 [95%CI 1.68,1.71]), and living in the least deprived areas of Wales (aOR = 1.31 [95%CI 1.30,1.32]) were the characteristics associated with the highest odds of meeting the desirable health indicator. The most prevalent reasons for not meeting the indicator were GP prescriptions for drugs used in infections (29.5%), analgesics (22.8%) and mental health conditions (20.2%).ConclusionThe DHI provides an insightful and novel tool for monitoring aspects of population health and healthcare utilisation. The DHI's coverage of important topics, derived from routine data sources, makes it a reproducible, temporally flexible, and easily understood indicator, suitable for informing policy development and addressing aspects of health inequalities. As data linkage capabilities expand internationally there are opportunities for implementation to aid comparison and better understanding of how systems perform. Journal Article International Journal of Population Data Science 11 1 Swansea University 2399-4908 data linkage; administrative data; healthcare utilisation; population health 23 2 2026 2026-02-23 10.23889/ijpds.v11i1.3005 COLLEGE NANME Medical School COLLEGE CODE MEDS Swansea University External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library) This work is supported by Administrative Data Research(ADR) Wales (Grant ref: ES/W012227/1), part of the ADRUK investment, uniting research expertise from SwanseaUniversity Medical School and WISERD (Wales Institute ofSocial and Economic Research and Data) at Cardiff Universitywith analysts from Welsh Government. ADR UK is funded bythe Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part ofUK Research and Innovation. 2026-02-25T16:31:47.8557321 2026-02-25T16:14:26.5745179 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science Harri Doel 1 Lucy Griffiths 0000-0001-9230-624X 2 Rhodri Johnson 0000-0001-9636-0753 3 Samantha Turner 0000-0001-5293-3871 4 Ronan Lyons 5 Jane Lyons 6 71498__36316__0f5ca94b2fbf48a8ae8c4cf5f26d507b.pdf 71498.VoR.pdf 2026-02-25T16:23:13.5931278 Output 2506776 application/pdf Version of Record true © The Authors. Open Access under CC BY 4.0 license. true Eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
title The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation
spellingShingle The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation
Harri Doel
Lucy Griffiths
Rhodri Johnson
Samantha Turner
Ronan Lyons
Jane Lyons
title_short The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation
title_full The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation
title_fullStr The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation
title_full_unstemmed The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation
title_sort The Desirable Health Indicator: A New Indicator of Population Health and Healthcare Utilisation
author_id_str_mv 9706ef4ab7c61e499ffd208e00cb81e3
e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93
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author_id_fullname_str_mv 9706ef4ab7c61e499ffd208e00cb81e3_***_Harri Doel
e35ea6ea4b429e812ef204b048131d93_***_Lucy Griffiths
5f97fd65ef8cf66db750f645f115454c_***_Rhodri Johnson
51236cb22cd896545c87e4c15fda17af_***_Samantha Turner
83efcf2a9dfcf8b55586999d3d152ac6_***_Ronan Lyons
1b74fa5125a88451c52c45bcf20e0b47_***_Jane Lyons
author Harri Doel
Lucy Griffiths
Rhodri Johnson
Samantha Turner
Ronan Lyons
Jane Lyons
author2 Harri Doel
Lucy Griffiths
Rhodri Johnson
Samantha Turner
Ronan Lyons
Jane Lyons
format Journal article
container_title International Journal of Population Data Science
container_volume 11
container_issue 1
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 2399-4908
doi_str_mv 10.23889/ijpds.v11i1.3005
publisher Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science
document_store_str 1
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description Background and ObjectiveHealthcare research faces challenges in developing metrics that resonate with the general public or policymakers. We created a Desirable Health Indicator (DHI) to address this gap, centred around New Year's wishes for survival and non-occurrence of undesired events in the following year, for the population of Wales, UK, following discussions with policymakers and members of the public.MethodsWe created retrospective, population-based individual-level cohorts from linked routinely collected anonymised, health and demographic data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank (2015-2022). The DHI was calculated per person per year and quantified the distribution of the population who survive calendar years and do not use selected health services (not admitted to hospital; no emergency department attendance; and not prescribed medication used in infection, analgesics, or mental health drugs). Group and individual interviews were held with members of the public and policy makers seeking their views of the indicator.ResultsThe findings were understood and well received by members of the general public and policymakers. Between 2015 and 2019, the percentage of individuals meeting the DHI ranged between 39.6%-41.9%, increasing to 48.6% and 46.2% for2020 and 2021respectively, and reducing to 43.1% in 2022. Focussing on the year 2022, 1,154,630 (43.1%) met the DHI from a population of 2,677,829. The percentage of people with desirable health decreased significantly with age and with increasing socioeconomic deprivation. A higher proportion of males (49.2%) met the DHI compared to females (37.1%). Being male (aOR = 1.62 [95%CI 1.61,1.63]), 10-19 years of age (aOR = 1.69 [95%CI 1.68,1.71]), and living in the least deprived areas of Wales (aOR = 1.31 [95%CI 1.30,1.32]) were the characteristics associated with the highest odds of meeting the desirable health indicator. The most prevalent reasons for not meeting the indicator were GP prescriptions for drugs used in infections (29.5%), analgesics (22.8%) and mental health conditions (20.2%).ConclusionThe DHI provides an insightful and novel tool for monitoring aspects of population health and healthcare utilisation. The DHI's coverage of important topics, derived from routine data sources, makes it a reproducible, temporally flexible, and easily understood indicator, suitable for informing policy development and addressing aspects of health inequalities. As data linkage capabilities expand internationally there are opportunities for implementation to aid comparison and better understanding of how systems perform.
published_date 2026-02-23T05:33:15Z
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score 11.097799

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